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WEST WYOMING — A Tunkhannock man took his own life after state police said he fatally shot his girlfriend, Tara Grob, and seriously injured her son inside a residence on West Eighth Street early Thursday morning.
Joshua Winans Croop, 37, was found dead inside his Jeep in a remote area near his residence on Old Trail Road at about 10 a.m., state police said.
Croop was communicating with a state police investigator prior to taking his own life.
Tara Grob, 38, was found on the first floor of her residence at 922 W. Eighth St., with multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township, where she was pronounced dead.
State police said her son, Chadwick Grob Jr., 21, was transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital after the shooting. Family members said late Thursday morning he underwent surgery at Geisinger and is expected to survive.
Chadwick Grob called 911 just after midnight saying that he and his mother were shot and identified the gunman as Croop.
Theresa Ambrose, who lives across from Tara’s house and is her aunt, said she heard bangs sometime after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday causing her dog to bark.
“I was watching TV and all of a sudden I heard ‘bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.’ I looked out my kitchen window and saw him (Croop) running like the wind from Tara’s house and he got in his Jeep and just took off. He had on a red hat and beige pants.”
Ambrose said she initially thought they had an argument but soon saw flashing lights outside. She said Croop cut Tara’s lawn Wednesday afternoon.
“I didn’t know him, I would just throw him a wave. Such a tragedy for this to happen to someone so young,”Ambrose said.
Family members said Croop dated Tara Grob for a short time before moving into her residence about a month ago with his Doberman. The dog was taken to her uncle’s residence next to the house.
Her family believes Tara Grob ended her relationship with Croop sometime late Wednesday. She left the house with her son and returned finding Croop waiting for them in the kitchen, they said.
Before Croop took his own life, District Judge Joseph Halesey in Hanover Township issued an arrest warrant charging Croop with criminal homicide, criminal attempt to commit homicide and aggravated assault.
The criminal complaint says Trooper Edward Urban contacted Croop by text message and later spoke with him on a cellphone.
In one text message, Croop admitted to the deadly shooting.
When Urban requested Croop to surrender, he replied, “Ya right, I just killed the only reason I have to live,” and “U can track me good luck. Tara is dead.”
Just before 5 a.m., Urban requested to have voice-to-voice contact and Croop agreed.
Croop demanded to know the condition of Tara Grob, giving Urban three seconds to respond. Croop terminated the phone call.
Text messaging continued intermittently until 5:44 a.m., court records say.
Ambrose said Tara Grob had surgery about a month ago to remove a brain aneurysm.
The house is equipped with a security system, including several exterior surveillance cameras. Her family did not know if the cameras were operational.
Court records say Croop was facing his third drunken driving offense filed by state police in April. He was sentenced to three months in jail and one-year probation in July 2016 for a drunken driving offense that involved a crash in Dallas on Aug. 23, 2014, and was sentenced to probation for a drunken driving offense in Swoyersville on March 14, 2013.
When Croop was 19, he was charged with concealment of whereabouts of a child and corruption of minors by West Wyoming police on Sept. 4, 2001, and sentenced to one year in the county’s Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program, a special probationary program.
