Brother says dad accused of shooting kids in Coldspring was 'a man of his word' by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on December 14, 2010 at 1:34 PM
Updated Wednesday, Dec 15 at 9:22 AM
GallerySee all 2 photos »HOUSTON -- A 54-year-old father was behind bars in San Jacinto County Tuesday after investigators say he shot his two children, killing his 10-year-old son.
On Monday, Pedrag Perisic finally went through with a threat he’d been making for some time, his identical twin brother said.
“My brother was a man of his word,” said Nenad Perisic.
Pedrag Perisic is accused of shooting his children, who were at the center of a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife. Nenad Perisic said his brother wanted to reconcile.
The couple met in Canada.
“He told her a couple of months ago, ‘if you don’t get together, you know what I’m going to do the kids, they can go over my dead body to Montreal.’ He didn’t want to let the kids go back to Montreal,” Nenad Perisic said.
According to an attorney representing the children’s mother, 12-year-old Danyela Perisic and 10-year-old Deyan Perisic were reported missing on Oct. 26 after their father failed to return them from a custody visit.
For the last six weeks, the attorney said the mother tried to get her ex-husband to return the children, to no avail.
Meanwhile, Perisic was staying with the children at a friend’s house in Coldspring.
On Monday, law enforcement officers from the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Department, the Texas Attorney General’s Office and other agencies served a custody warrant at the home. Deputies made their way to the second floor after entering the home, but as they searched, they heard gunshots coming from the back of the house.
Deputies found Danyela and Deyan shot and arrested their father.
Danyela was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she remained Tuesday in stable condition.
Deyan was rushed to the emergency room in Livingston, where he was pronounced dead.
“My heart is bleeding,” said Nenad Perisic. “It’s a tragic story and I don’t wish that (anybody) experiences that.”
The children moved from Canada last year and lived with their parents and their uncle in La Porte.
“It’s impossible. I just can’t believe he would hurt them in any way,” said neighbor and family friend Jo Vandagriff.
Vandagriff said she used to take care of the children after school.
“He must have totally snapped,” she said.
Pedrag Perisic is charged with interference with child custody and murder and was being held without bond.
The attorney for the children’s mother said she was en route to Houston from Montreal Tuesday afternoon.
http://www.khou.com/news/Investigators-Custody-dispute-turns-deadly-in-Cold-Spring-111868039.html