Former Goatlord Guitarist Involved in Double Murder Suicide

On Friday, October 2nd, Joe Frankulin, former guitarist of black/doom/heavy metal band Goatlord, murdered a woman and her seven-year-old son before turning the gun on himself in Las Vegas, according to KSNV.

Frankulin, 47, spray-painted ‘I LOVE YOU BABY’ on the garage door of Jennifer Bagley Donoso, a message meant for her son, Lex. According to authorities, Frankulin and Donoso have had disputes in the past, though there are no further details available concerning their relationship. Apparently, Donoso’s daughter ran to a neighbor and informed her that someone had shot her mom. The neighbor made the 911 call.

The band’s Encyclopedia Metallum page lists them as active, but their status is in question. Apparently, a Facebook account in Frankulin’s name shows that he attempted to get Goatlord to reunite for a German festival last year, but that was a failure. Frankulin’s neighbors have said that he had recently sold most of his belongings and was acting strangely:

“The last six months he kind of gave me a really eerie feeling,” the neighbor said. “Like the way he acted. His demeanor. He would always be around children.”

Frankulin has no criminal record in Clark County.

This is obviously horrible to an unbelievable degree. Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the victims. We’ll let you know more details concerning the tragedy as we know them.