An Idaho father who planned to kill himself and his three kids is at the center of a horrifying homicide after he admitted to shooting his adopted daughter, watching her “gasp for breath” for 20 minutes before she died.
In his shocking confession, he also revealed he wrapped her lifeless body in a Pride flag – a gesture he claimed would be “meaningful” to the dead teen, who he wanted to “honor.”
On August 18 about 4:13 p.m., police in Caldwell, Idaho, responded to a chilling 911 call from a teenager who reported that his father – later identified as 51-year-old Delbert Cornish – was inside their home armed with a gun.
“The son indicated that Cornish made comments about shooting a family member and attempted to prevent him from escaping,” Caldwell Police Department shared in a statement.
When officers entered the home, they found the body of 18-year-old, Hope “Onyx” Cornish, who was Cornish’s adopted daughter.
‘Better off dead’
“I’m not gonna lie, I did it dude,” Cornish told investigators, according to the affidavit shared by Idaho News 6.
During his interview with police, the man said he was “tired of living” and “tired of being belittled” by his brother Steven, who shared a home with Cornish and his three kids, Onyx and sons L.C. and Ian.
The August 19 police report explains that the father – an alcoholic who struggled with depression – allegedly began planning last year to kill himself and his kids, who he claims were “bullied” by his brother.
“He wanted to kill his children along with himself because he believed nobody, especially Steven, would take care of them once he was dead,” the affidavit said, adding “that they would not be able to carry on in life without him. Because of this, he believed they would all be better off dead.”
But his plan to eliminate himself and the kids was ultimately derailed when his eldest child Ian was sent back to prison for a parole violation just months ago, People reports.
This left him only two kids: Onyx and L.C., who had earlier called the police.
When asked what would have happened if his plan was executed flawlessly, he replied: “Both of my kids would be dead and I’d be dead,” per the affidavit.
‘Today is the day’
According to the affidavit, after Cornish woke on the morning of August 18, he told his brother, “Today [is] the day,” but did not explain what that meant.
Around 9 a.m., the accused grabbed a handgun and walked down the hallway toward his daughter Onyx’s bedroom, stopping just outside her door near the bathroom. He told police he was debating what to do – and admitted he had considered shooting her while she slept, saying it “would be easier, right?”
But before he could act, Onyx – who often worked night shifts – suddenly opened the door, startling him, he told investigators.
‘Watched her gasp for breath’
He quickly lifted the gun and shot the teenager once in the head.
“For the next 20 minutes I watched her gasp for breath,” Cornish told police. “I’m a piece of s*** man. I’m not going to lie, I did it.”
He then claimed he kissed her on the cheek and expressed remorse for having killed her. Seconds later, he also shot her cat in the head, saying he believed “no one would take care of him after they were all dead,” the affidavit reads.
Before leaving her room, he then covered Onyx’s body with a large Pride flag – something he said was “a way to honor her, because it was something that meant a lot to her.”
Afterwards, he went into a “fit of rage,” punching holes in the walls of the home and even swinging a hatchet into his daughter’s bedroom door.
Then, he wrote a confession and suicide note, drank bourbon, and sat watching television until L.C. returned home from school, police report.
‘He was dad-like’
“That’s no reason to kill my child,” Crystal Thompson told News 19 of Cornish’s excuse for slaying her daughter, who she called “a fiery one.” “We’re supposed to protect our children, not kill our children. It’s not good enough for me. Not by a long shot.”
Thompson, who had dated Cornish for several years, explained that though “Dell wasn’t her biological father,” “he was dad-like [and] has been there since day one.”
“He signed the birth certificate. I never, never thought that we weren’t safe physically around him,” said the grieving mother, whose kids reportedly lived with Cornish so she could better care for her youngest child with autism.
‘My kids are going with me’
But none of the children were safe around him.
Police later found the suicide note in the living room of the home, scribbled by Cornish, who at the time was in custody.
It read: “I am Delbert Cornish. I have done the abomination you find her. My daughter Hope and my son L.C. have gone with me by my own accord. No one will help them if I’m gone.” Before signing his name, he added, “I hereby check out of this life. Depression is a b****.”
They also found another note: “I’m a man of my word my kids died by my hand. I’m tired of them being made fun of,” and “I’m going! My kids are going with me.”
Cornish, who repeatedly told detectives he was guilty during the interview, faces charges of murder and aggravated assault.
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