THE SIDELINES : Racing Official’s Death Suicide
The slaying of a Texas Racing Commission official shot to death with his wife and two children at their home has been ruled a suicide.
But police said they have not yet determined whether 41-year-old David Joost also killed his wife, Susan, 35, and their children, ages 10 and 5.
Medical Examiner Robert Bayardo on Tuesday said Joost, who handled administrative duties for the Racing Commission, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. All four victims died early Sunday, he said.
Sheriff Paul Hastings said that no suicide note had been found but that the pressure of Joost’s job may have led him to kill himself.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Rachel Vasquez said officials could not confirm whether the same .38-caliber handgun killed all four family members.
Joost’s body was discovered Monday at his home in Buda, outside Austin, after he failed to appear at a commission meeting.
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