Philly City Hall staffer shot by husband in murder-suicide, police say

A longtime Philadelphia City Hall staffer was shot and killed by her husband, who then fatally shot himself, according to officials. A baby sitter and the couple’s twin 4-year-old girls managed to flee the house.

Homicide Capt. John Ryan said police found Linda Rios-Neuby, head of human resources for City Council, shot three times in her bathroom Friday morning. She and her husband, Haywood Neuby Jr., had been separated. Both were pronounced dead around 8:40 a.m.

Council President Darrell Clarke said Rios was a beloved colleague, and he’s sad and angry over her death.

“I will have more to say in the future about the role of guns in this tragedy and the scourge of domestic violence, but for now I join my colleagues and all City Council staff in mourning this tremendous loss,” Clarke wrote on  Facebook. “It will take some time, but I’m going to try to remember Linda at her happiest — her beautiful smile and infectious joy as she carried those beautiful twins four years ago, never slowing her pace at work until nature forced her to do so.”

A baby sitter arrived Friday morning and heard arguing upstairs, then gunfire and fled, Ryan said. The children escaped to a neighbor’s house.

As the news swept City Hall, staffers wept in the hallways.

Mayor Jim Kenney said his entire administration is saddened by the news of her death.

“I had the privilege of working with Linda for years during my tenure on City Council, and I knew her to be a dedicated public servant,” Kenney said in a statement.