A HEARTBROKEN father has revealed how his family was massacred on Christmas day.
Dustan Countryman, 38, from Arkansas, had wrapped gifts for his daughter, Levenah Countryman, 10, and was about to see her on Christmas morning when he got a dreaded phone call.
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He discovered his ex-partner, Jaquita Chase, 31, had shot and killed their daughter, her mother, Patricia Patrick, 61, and Levenah’s siblings, Abigail Heflin, 12, and Danielle Collins, 7.
After shooting the family, Chase beat their bodies with a hammer before turning the rifle on herself in the living room, next to the Christmas tree.
Chase’s brother arrived for Christmas lunch and saw the bloodbath.
Countryman, a manager for an energy efficiency company, said: “When I lost my daughter Levenah, my world collapsed.
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“One moment, I was about to see her and the family for Christmas – the next, they were all gone.
“I won’t think about the terrible day Levenah died. Instead, I’ll remember the little girl with the bright blue eyes who made me a proud daddy.”
In 2009, Countryman and Chase met at a fast food restaurant and soon fell in love.
Chase was already a mom to Abigail, who was 1 at the time, from a previous relationship.
After they became a couple, Countryman became a doting stepdad to Abigail.
Countryman recalled: “When we got together, Jaquita was kind, loving, and most importantly, she had a good heart.
“I also fell in love with her daughter, Abigail, too. I changed her, fed her, and took her to the park every day.
“Later that year, I bought a house, and Jaquita and Abigail moved in. She became a part of my family, and I, hers.
“Jacquita’s mom, Patricia, visited us often, and we were close too.”
The following year, in 2010, Countryman and Chase had a child of their own, Levenah.
Countryman said: “I was over the moon to be a dad. I even picked Levenah’s name from a baby book.
“I was more besotted with her each day, and so was Jaquita.
“But when Levenah was a few months old, Jaquita started going missing days at a time. Every day I was looking after Levenah by myself.
“I discovered she had fallen into the wrong crowd and was taking drugs. Her behavior was strange and erratic.
“I was horrified and gave her an ultimatum: our family or drugs. She said she wanted both. It was like a knife to my chest.”
Refusing to let his daughter be around Chase, Countryman ended things, kicked her out, and got full custody of Levenah.
Meanwhile, Chase and her daughter moved into her mom’s house.
After that, Countryman settled into life as a single dad, balancing busy work shifts at the nuclear power plant where he worked.
Countryman said: “I worked 72 hours a week, so my mom helped me a lot.
“But when Levenah was two, my mom got a full-time job, and I had no help from family. I was struggling.
“Then, one day, Jaquita called me out of the blue to tell me she wasn’t using anymore and that she was doing well.
“Curious, I visited her, and she was happy and healthy. She’d been in rehab and told me how much she’d missed Levenah.
“I was relieved and trusted her to come back into Levenah’s life.
“After she proved herself to me, we split custody, and Levenah swapped between our houses every week. I was happy my daughter had her family back.”
Over the years, Chase had another daughter, Danielle, and continued living with her mom.
Countryman married Krystal, 36, who is unemployed due to being disabled, and became a step-mom to Levenah in 2014.
“Krystal and I had Levenah every week. I treasured every moment with her, she was my world,” Countryman said.
“I also went to Jaquita’s mom’s house every week and spent time with all the girls. Levenah adored her step-sisters, and I loved watching them play together.
“But over the years, Jaquita started moving the kids to different towns. They moved so far that my visits turned to only once a month.
“I was constantly upset with Jaquita and wanted to take Levenah full-time. But I didn’t have the heart to take her away from her sisters.”
Time passed, and in 2020, as Christmas approached, Levenah cried and refused to go home one day.
Countryman asked his daughter if her mom was treating her right, and she refused to answer, leaving him with a bad feeling.
Weeks later, on Christmas Day, he had the girl’s presents wrapped and was ready to spend the day with them.
“I couldn’t wait to see Levenah open her gifts. But when I called before leaving, no one answered,” he recalled.
“I kept calling and was worried sick. I had this awful feeling Jaquita might be using drugs again because of Levenah’s recent moods.”
Hours later, he received a call from his cousin.
Countryman said: “My cousin yelled that they were all dead. They’d all been shot, including Levenah. I couldn’t breathe. I collapsed to the floor.
“Sobbing, I couldn’t believe Levenah was gone. My world ended that day.”
Police revealed to Countryman that on Christmas morning, Chase shot the three children and her mother with a pistol.
After the shooting, Chase beat their bodies with a hammer and then used the .22 caliber rifle to shoot herself.
Chase’s body was found on the living room floor, next to the Christmas tree, while Levenah was found in her bedroom, alone.
Chase’s brother arrived for Christmas lunch and saw the bloodbath before calling the police.
“My baby girl was gone. Jaquita was clearly back on drugs and had been in a drug-fuelled psychosis,” the heartbroken 38-year-old father said.
“But there was no excuse. She robbed me of my only daughter. Levenah was an innocent girl with her life ahead of her.
“She didn’t even get to open her Christmas gifts. I was heartbroken for the other girls, too, and their grandmother. They were my family.”
Now, Countryman misses his daughter daily and finds Christmas an especially painful time.
He said: “Christmas used to be Levenah’s favorite holiday. Now, it’s a horrible reminder of what she endured that day.
“Some days, my PTSD is so bad, I can’t move or speak. My daughter didn’t deserve this. None of them did.
“I torture myself, wondering what if Jaquita never came back into our lives. Or what if Levenah spent that Christmas morning with me? Things don’t get easier.
“A stuffed snowman Levenah got me sits next to me every day, and I snuggle with a blanket with our photos on it.
“I don’t want my Levenah to be remembered for this tragedy. Instead, I want people to remember her for the beautiful, kind little girl she was.”
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