Georgia girl, 12, killed by father after family court grants him custody

Monica Dunning is holding up the shooting death of her 12-year-old granddaughter, Angel Ahearn, as devastating evidence that the US family court system is broken, the Tennessee news outlet WBIR reported.

According to Dunning, her daughter was divorced from Ahearn at the time of her death, and there had been allegations of abuse which led to a court order that prevented him from seeing Angel.

The decision to award Ahearn custody despite those allegations produced a tragic outcome at the family home in Barrow county, Georgia, more than a three-hour drive from Monroe county, Tennessee.

On 17 October, authorities say, Ahearn was arguing with a 34-year-old woman when he grabbed a pistol and shot her, his daughter and himself. First responders arrived to find Angel dead and the two adults badly wounded. Ahearn died after he and the woman were taken to hospital.