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Letter to the editor

Body in van was shooting suspect

His children, ex-wife and her partner were found dead before him.

By MIKE DONILA, Times Staff Writer
Published December 17, 2007

A Clearwater spokeswoman confirmed Sunday that the body found in a van near the Sunshine Skyway bridge belonged to Oliver Thomas Bernsdorff, the prime suspect in the shootings of his two children, his ex-wife and her partner.

Clearwater city spokeswoman Joelle Castelli said the identification was made based on Bernsdorff's tattoos. She declined to describe them or give further details.

Castelli did, though, confirm that a 9mm semiautomatic pistol - just like one Bernsdorff recently purchased - was used in the shootings on Fridayin Largo and Clearwater. Tests continue on the gun, Castelli said.

Police have not confirmed that Bernsdorff, 36, was the killer and they are still assembling the time line of the events. But they suspect he is responsible for the grisly crime rampage Friday morning that began at 53-year-old Andrea Pisanello's Largo apartment, where his ex-wife, Jennifer Renee Davis, 27, was living.

Afterward, police believe, Bernsdorff went to his Clearwater home and shot his children, Olivia, 4, and Magnus, 2, in their beds.

Police believe Bernsdorff then got into the family van and headed toward Manatee over the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Authorities found the van crashed into the thick mangroves lining the highway.

Bernsdorff was found with a gunshot wound to the head. His face was disfigured from the gunshot. A handgun was found in the van, but police have not confirmed it was the gun used in the shootings.

[Last modified December 17, 2007, 00:46:52]