Pennsylvania mother leaves chilling handwritten note in suicide pact involving daughter, husband: police

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.

Police in southeastern Pennsylvania have released details of what they say appears to be a suicide pact between a young woman and her parents, including a chilling letter left behind by her mother.

Morgan Daub, 26, and her parents, James Daub, 62, and Deborah Daub, 59, were found dead in the backyard of their home near York, Pennsylvania, on the morning of Jan. 25 after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots just before midnight. Detectives with the West Manchester Township Police Department said that a letter written by Deborah Daub spoke of a “joint decision by she and Morgan to end their lives.” 

The letter also speaks of “the evil that has mounted against Morgan and the family,” but it provides no further details, police said. It was signed and dated January 19, 2023, and makes references to God and the Bible.

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Other letters written by Morgan and James Daub indicated that they had decided to take their own lives of their own free will as well, including suicide notes signed by James and Deborah Daub. James had written, “with only 2 guns & me being shaky, my wife Debbie pulled the trigger for me.” Deborah wrote, “I was too shaky, so my daughter pulled the trigger for me.” The notes were dated Jan. 24, 2023. 

Documents written by Morgan Daub contained a multi-page checklist that police said appeared “to contain predatory steps before ending her life.” Steps on the to-do list included “speak to dad, clipping the dog’s nails, letters to family, etc.,” according to investigators. 

Police said that Deborah Daub shot and killed her husband and then was shot and killed by Morgan Daub, who proceeded to commit suicide. 

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A forensic examination of the grisly scene determined that the manner of death was “consistent with the already available evidence.” 

Months before taking her own life, Morgan Daub posted a strange video on YouTube in which she declared herself to be “a prophet of the most high God” and said she was abdicating the throne of England and the United Kingdom.

Detective Timothy Fink told the York Dispatch that the written documents left behind by each family member “detailed that Morgan had told her mother that she was having auditory hallucinations which were not getting any better.” 

People who knew the family described Morgan as a “smart” and “kind of quiet girl” and said that her parents were “friendly.” They told the York Dispatch that the woman in the YouTube video was drastically different from the Morgan they knew. 

An investigation into the deaths is closed.