Minnesota man Brian Short who killed his wife and children had history of mental illness

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Brian Short, the Minnesota man who killed his wife and three children, revealed a family history of mental illness to his best friend
Bob Weigel tells DailyMail.com this news came 'out of the blue' and that Brian 'didn’t want to discuss it further'
He also says Brian had grown distant over the past few months, which he believes could have been the result of an impending federal lawsuit
Brian's company AllNurses.com was accused in the lawsuit of defamation by East Coast Test Prep and Achieve Test Prep of New Jersey
On August 28 a judge ruled that the trial would be moved from New Jersey to Brian's home state of Minnesota
Late on the night of September 7 or early September 8 Brian shot his family in the bedrooms before turning the gun on himself in the garage

By Pat Shipp In Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota For Dailymail.com

Published: 01:38 EST, 15 September 2015 | Updated: 03:41 EST, 15 September 2015

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The news that a family of five had been found dead in their home last Thursday following a gruesome murder-suicide shocked an entire Minnesota community and left many begging for answers.

Brian Short shot dead his teenage children Cole, Madison and Brooklyn as they lay in bed and then his wife Karen while she tried to call for help.

He then turned the gun on himself in the family's $2million mansion on Lake Minnetonka, with his motive still a complete mystery to investigators.

Now, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively from a close family friend that Brian had a history of mental illness which may have been the cause of this horrible tragedy.

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New clues: Brian Short, the Minnesota man who killed his wife and three children (above), revealed a family history of mental illness to his best friend

Opening up: Bob Weigel (above) tells DailyMail.com news of Brian's family history came 'out of the blue' and that Brian 'didn’t want to discuss it further'

Investigators revealed on Saturday that it was likely late last Monday or early Tuesday when Brian, 45, grabbed a shotgun and headed to the bedrooms of his three children to shot them dead just before their first day of school.

A source told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that Brian entered the bedrooms of 17-year-old Cole and his sisters Madison, 15, and Brooklyn, 14, one at a time, aiming at each and then pulling the trigger.

Startled by the noise, his wife Karen, 48, grabbed her cell phone to call 911, but he tracked her down in another bedroom, killing her as well.

They were all shot in the head.

Brian then went to the lower garage of the family's home and shot himself.

When Brian did not show up for work on Tuesday and Wednesday and could not be reached, concerned co-workers called the police and asked them to carry out a welfare check on the family.

That is when authorities found the bodies of the family scattered throughout the house. The only survivor was their dog Harley.

Bob Weigel, one of Brian’s best friends, tells the DailyMail.com exclusively; ‘Brian told me years ago his family had a history of mental illness. He wouldn't elaborate but it was clearly something on his mind otherwise he would have never told me.

'Brian said it out of the blue, just in passing but then he didn’t want to discuss it further so I don’t know who he was talking about but it seemed like he was really concerned about it. I asked but he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I was a little concerned but over time I never saw anything out of the ordinary so I thought he was doing OK.

‘Now that I think back I am devastated and overwhelmed that he may have been so troubled all along and didn’t tell me what was going on. I would have been there for him, no matter what. Brian was my friend and I loved him and his family very much.'

Tough Times: Brian was also facing a federal lawsuit against his company AllNurses.com for defamation

Weigel also said of the tragedy; ‘First of all, I never knew he had a gun. Brian was not a gun enthusiast, he didn’t collect them and didn’t tell any of his close friends he had this shotgun. I was talking to some of our mutual friends after this happened and none of knew he had a weapon in the house.

‘But about two months ago he started to get distant, which he has never done before. I called him a few times, reaching out to see what’s up, but he never called me back and that was a red flag to me, but I didn’t know why or that it was this serious. In the past, if I called Brian one day, we were together the next, hanging out and having fun.

‘The only thing I can think of is the lawsuit was getting to him and he was feeling guilty that if his company suffered that would effect the employees and that would have been devastating for him.'

Weigel still had great memories however of Brian and their friendship.

‘Brian was a really good guy, loved his family, loved his friends and was generous with all of us. If 10 of us went out for dinner he had to pay for all of us, if we were going snowmobiling and there wasn’t enough snowmobiles for his family to participate he would go out and buy them. And he always got the top of the line whatever he bought.

'A bunch of us went up to my cabin in Minot, North Dakota every year to go snowmobiling. We all had a wonderful time. Those trips will never be the same without Brian and his family.

‘Brian’s home office was an oval office at the back of his home and he had several huge big monitors and full of other gadgets that I could never afford.

‘Brian was very generous with his money but he was also very smart so I never thought he was overspending and getting into a lot of debt.

‘I even told him once, “Brian if I didn’t know you as well as I do I would think you were living above your means, but I know you are smart and handling your business.” Brian never responded.

‘This is an awful tragedy but Brian was a really wonderful person who was struggling with something. I just wish he knew he didn’t have to go through this alone. He will be missed by so many. Brian never met a stranger.

‘I don’t know where they are going to hold the funeral yet because there are going to be so many people that want to attend I don’t know where there will be enough room to hold everyone. That is how much he was loved.’

Remebering: Mark Moon, a long time friend of the Short family, pauses after laying flowers on a memorial at the their home

Mark Moon, another long-time family friend, showed up in tears at the Short's home Saturday morning to lay flowers at the make-shift memorial and quietly pay his respects.

‘I have known this family for 15 years,’ Mark told the DailyMail.com.

‘We took our families snowmobiling up north together every year and it was wonderful, so many great memories.

‘So I am stunned because I never, ever saw any signs of trouble in their marriage, their kids were great and he never once complained about having any problems.’

‘Brian never seemed to worried about money and I never saw him with any mental issues,’ Mark, whom seemed stunned by that revelation.

‘I have known this family a long time, we were very close friends, we vacationed together, we often talked on the phone and teased one another on Facebook, but I never saw any signs of trouble. Nothing.

‘I thought he would have told me if there were any problems so I am having a very hard time believing this happened and that he did it.’

Mark said he was devastated when he heard the news and wondered who could have done this to Brian and his family. When he learned that police had determined that it was Brian who killed his family and then took his own life he refused to believe it at first.

‘Did the police actually say Brian did this?’ Mark asked through his tears.

‘Brian was not a monster, I can’t believe this. He was the kindest guy, who was generous with his family and friends.

‘Whenever we would go out to dinner Brian always wanted to pay the check for everybody and he was wonderful to his family.

‘Brian worked hard so he could provide a wonderful lifestyle for them. They had a boat, jet skis, snowmobiles, took regular vacations and a beautiful Tesla, an electric car. Brian was very loose with money. Brian treasured his wife and kids so he wanted to make them happy.

‘As matter of fact, Brian always said how lucky he was to have his life, that he was in the right place at the right time and everything fell into place. Brian told me the web site was a dream come true, he was living in a beautiful home and his wife and kids were perfect in his eyes.

‘So you see, its very strange for me to come to his house today, after so many years knowing them, and not be able to go up to the front door and say ‘Hey Brian,’ its heartbreaking, I still cannot believe it. I hope they don’t make him out to be a monster, he was a really good guy.’

Mark laid down his flowers and the end of the driveway, where the police tape stopped anyone from approaching the home, and stood there staring at the house in disbelief, wiping his tears away.

He stood there for a long period of time before slowly walking back to car, still wiping away tears as he drove away.

Best friends: Brian's daughter's Brooklyn and Madison who were killed just before the first day of school

Gone: Brian's son Cole who he shot as he slept in bed with Harley, the family dog who survived the attack

One of the Short family's neighbors, Doug Plocek, told DailyMail.com that though he did not know them well the Shorts were always very friendly.

‘The kids always waved when they walked by on their way to catch the school bus up the street or walking their dog,’ Doug explained softly.

'We live on a private road and have a contract with a company for snow removal but if they were late getting here Brian would pull out his 4-wheeler snowplow and do it himself. And he didn’t hesitate, he did the road and everyone’s driveway in the cul-de-sac, which has 10 large homes with long driveways.

‘On the Fourth of July I would often have a barbecue and his whole family came over and socialized with us for a while.

‘They were just the nicest family and those kids were his life. I can only imagine he killed them so they wouldn’t be left without anyone to take care of them when he killed himself. I don’t know, if you saw how happy they were and how he loved his kids it doesn’t make any sense.’

In 1995, Brian, then a nursing student, created AllNurses.com, which provides information and resources about the nursing profession. The site now has approximately 870,000 users and Brian told Business Journal in 2012 his company generated $1 million revenue annually, according to heavy.com.

Public records do not show Brian or his company had any bankruptcies or state tax liens but he was facing a federal lawsuit from East Coast Test Prep and Achieve Test Prep for defamation, according to published court documents.

And although the lawsuit was filed in New Jersey, on August 28 a judge ordered to have it moved to Minnesota. These companies allege AllNurses.com failed to remove anonymous defamatory comments from its website and was sending business to a competitor.

Aside from the lawsuit, which is unclear if it would be be a big financial or legal threat, there are other indications that Brian may have had some financial problems. Cole, their son, reportedly, told some friends a couple of weeks ago they were planning on selling their mansion because it was too big for them and they abruptly stopped their cleaning service three months ago.

Roman Peysakhovich, the spokesperson for Polina’s Cleaning Services told the Star Tribune, ‘It was really strange; out of nowhere they said they were stopping.’ When he asked why Karen Short did not give him a reason. But like everyone else who knew the Short family Roman said, 'they seemed like a great family. Everything was perfect.’

Brian and his family moved into the $2 million, 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 5,600-square-foot mansion with an 8-car garage in 2011, according to Hennepin County property records, from a 4,200 square-foot home in Lakeville, Minnesota.

Brian’s brother and sister as well as Karen’s sister are in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota from out of state to make funeral arrangements for the family.