The killings of Pamela Harrington and two other family members in Detroit in 1975 remain a stark example of a family destroyed from within. Pamela, reported in accounts as either six or nine years old, was shot and killed by her father, Paul Harrington, a Detroit police officer and Vietnam veteran. His wife Becky and another daughter, Cassandra, were also killed that night. During questioning Harrington confessed and described traumatic wartime memories, including an incident he said had haunted him after a raid in Vietnam.

Harrington had sought psychiatric help before the killings and struggled with alcohol and mental health problems, according to family reports. At trial for the 1975 killings he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. What details about Pamela’s life in Detroit or that night could help clarify the case for readers who remember the family?