What is one to make of the awful story about Aaron Michael, who recently killed his ex-girlfriend and then admitted to friends that he killed two of his own children several years ago just before being gunned down by Chester police?

That he was a mass murderer, who had gone undetected by police? How did that happen?

How do two kids die in the custody of a parent under very suspicious circumstances and how does that parent get away with not being charged in their deaths.

Apparently, Michael was pretty good at denying things. Police questioned him about the death of his first son in 2005, then his second in 2007. He told cops he hadn't harmed them and he skated.

No doubt people will ask if this could have had anything to do with the fact that Michael is the son of a cop himself?

And what's up with our county medical examiner? He listed both causes of death as "undetermined." If Frederic Hellman can't tell a murder from an accidental death maybe he should find another line of work.

Michael's vicious slaying of Andrea Arrington came very near the second anniversary of his second son's death. Is that just a concidence or something else? We'll probably never know.

The 23-year-old Arrington was by all accounts a terrific mother and delightful young woman. My brother-in-law worked with her at a nursing home in Media where she worked as a CNA (Certified Nurses Assistant) and he spoke the world of her.

Now she's dead.

After killing her, Michael announced to friends via phone his intention to kill himself. He didn't have the guts to put his father's gun to his own head. He committed suicide by cop instead.

What an terrible and ugly tragedy.

UPDATE: I'm just off the phone with Dr. Hellman who gave me a thorough and convincing explanation for why he ruled the way he ruled in the death of 4-month-old Alijah Townes. Having talked to him and two other pathologists about the case, I'd like to retract my earlier comment questioning his abilities. I'll be writing more about this case for Friday's paper.