Students, faculty remember slain brother, sister

Jackie Berman, Alex Berman found dead inside home

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Students and faculty at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts held a remembrance service one day after two of their classmates were found dead inside a home.

On Tuesday, students at Dreyfoos wore white in support of Jackie Berman and her brother, Alex.

"I was just telling my mom, I've never seen the campus so quiet," said senior Josi Russo. "This is supposed to be a place of joy and artistic expression and we lost two great musicians yesterday."

Jackie Berman, 15, played the violin and her 16-year-old brother was accomplished on the cello.

"It is a time like this when we need to stand together," said Russo. "It is really nice to see everyone supporting the family in white. We don't want to mourn their deaths, we want to celebrate the life and the joy that they brought here."

Police say their father, Richard Berman, found the bodies of his children and his ex-wife, Jennifer Berman, Monday morning. Investigators say it was a murder-suicide.

Her ex-husband called police after she sent him an email indicating she would harm herself and their children, saying he received an email that said she "did the best thing for our family, and then she sent her cousin a text that she was going to kill the kids and herself."

"I'm just about getting there but it's kind of concerning me," he told a 911 dispatcher. "To be honest with you, I'm afraid to go in."

Berman found his son's body while speaking with the dispatcher.

"I don't -- no, this can't be real," he said. "I was just touching his head. He wasn't waking up, his alarm was on and there was blood in his ear."

A neighbor told the dispatcher she found Jennifer Berman's and her daughter's bodies upstairs.

"I think the girl is up in bed with her but once I got up and like I saw what was up there, I had to run back downstairs," said the neighbor.

Court records say the Bermans' divorce was finalized last month. Richard Berman told police his ex-wife and their children were renting the house where the shooting happened after they recently sold it.

Neighbors said Jennifer Berman appeared disoriented in the days before her death.

"A couple of days ago, she was so different," said Marian Sklodowski. "You could see in the face, she was -- something missing, something disturbed."

At Dreyfoos, the focus was squarely on celebrating the legacy of the two bright and talented teenagers and remembering their lives that were full of promise and laughter.

"The type of people where they light up the whole classroom," said friend and Dreyfoos student Jamilet Masso.