Recently-revealed court documents shed more light on details surrounding an Alabama murder-suicide that left a father and son dead.
Madison County police found 10-year-old Tate and his father, Brian Buening, dead inside Buening’s home in Harvest on August 6. A month prior, Tate’s mother, Kayla White, filed an emergency protection order against Buening at the Madison County Circuit Court, citing extreme fear for the safety of her son, who was scheduled for a court-ordered visitation with Buening.
The judge scheduled the hearing for a month later, on August 9.
“The hearing date was set a month later. A MONTH,” White wrote on Facebook. “An emergency hearing shouldn’t take that long. In the mean time I had to abide by the papers and send him back. I shouldn’t have had to do that.”
Tate was sent to his regular scheduled visitation with his father while White waited for the hearing, fearing that Buening would find out about it while Tate was in his care.
“I was meticulous to keep it a secret and play nice until he could be served on this past Friday after I picked Tate up. But somehow he found out while he had my baby,” White wrote.
ABC 31 reports that the court sent Buening a notice to appear two days before the murder-suicide.
Court documents indicate that White said Buening suffered from PTSD, depression, and a “history of suicidal ideations with two failed suicide attempts,” along with alcohol and anger issues.
White also wrote that Buening had threatened to kill her several times in the past and was not taking his prescribed medication. She added that she and her son were the subjects of constant harassment and threats.
When an officer arrived for a welfare check upon White’s insistence, Tate and his father were found deceased inside Buening’s residence off of Blue Creek Drive. White said the responding officer would not initially walk into the home with her, forcing her to go inside and find Tate dead from gunshot wounds.
The case is now dismissed after Buening “carried out on his threats and killed himself and the minor child.” White, however, is fighting for justice.
“I don’t know how to go on from this. But if I ever make it through this pain enough that money will be put towards fighting this bullshit court system to create better laws to protect our babies from monsters,” White said.
“I’m fighting for better gun laws. (Someone with two suicide attempts and violent history should not be allowed to buy guns). For police offers to be more diligent and compassionate when someone is in need. And whatever else I can to help prevent others from ever feeling this pain.”
Click here to donate to a GoFundMe set up by the victim’s family
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[Feature Photo: Tate Buening/Facebook]
