Jimmie Johnson's mother-in-law had been secretly battling depression since ... trends now
The mother-in-law of NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson snapped and killed her husband and grandson after secretly battling depression over the son she lost nine years ago, the racecar driver's nephew has told DailyMail.com.
Terry Lynn Janway, 68, never got over losing 27-year-old son Jordan in a freak skydiving accident in San Diego in 2004, her elder grandson Seth Robison revealed in an exclusive interview.
Her grief culminated in the unthinkable Monday night when she shot husband Jack, 69, and little Dalton, 11, dead before turning the gun on herself in an apparent murder-suicide at their neat four-bedroom single-story home in a quiet tree-lined street in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Muskogee police have been quoted as saying investigating officers may never know what exactly triggered the tragedy.
Terry Lynn Janway, 68, (left) shot her husband Jack, 69, (right) and 11-year-old grandson Dalton Janway (right) dead before turning the gun on herself at the couple's home in Muskogee on Monday night
Terry and Jack Janway were the parents of NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson's wife Chandra Janway (pictured in 2016 )
The elder couple's older grandson, Seth Robison, 16, spoke to DailyMail.com in the wake of the tragedy, revealing his grandmother had been struggling with long-term depression
However, high school student Seth, 16 – Dalton's beloved half-brother – revealed to DailyMail.com: 'My grandmother, she was a very sweet lady. If you met her she was the nicest person you ever met in your life.
'And I guess unknown to me, and quite a lot of other people, she had been struggling with depression and stuff we didn't know about until it was too late.
'About nine years ago my grandparents lost their son – my uncle – in a skydiving accident, and I now believe that's what started her descent into depression.'
Speaking with remarkable composure, he added: 'I believe that she had never intended to harm the other two.
'It just happened and I have spoken to some people who have had experience of this kind of thing and they said once people snap they aren't really their former self anymore.'
Terry's descent into depression is believed to have started after the death of her 27-year-old Jordan Janway who was killed in a skydiving accident in San Diego in 2004
Seth and Dalton were close and had the same mother, Marianne Janway, 40, the sister of Johnson's 44-year-old wife Chandra, but had different fathers.
The younger sibling had lived with his grandparents since the age of two after Marianne sought treatment for drug issues, Seth said.
And the mom, who now lives in California, posted an agonizing message on Facebook about her parents and young son after the tragedy, saying: 'Please tell me this isn't really happening, please god someone.'
Seth also revealed he broke the news of the horror to his aunt Chandra during an emotion-charged phone call to the celebrity couple's home in Charlotte, North Carolina, hours after it happened.
'I was the one that had to break the news to my aunt Channie,' he said.
'About all I could do was tell her to find a place to sit down. I just then had to tell her straight up that they were gone.
'She took it pretty hard, but I think she held herself together pretty well.
'But she was just in shock, she didn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it. I didn't either.
Seth, pictured with Dalton (left) and their grandfather Jack (right), revealed his younger brother had been taken in by their grandparents at a young age after their mother sought treatment for drug abuse
Jordan, an avid skydiver, suffered a fatal jump after colliding with another jumper and being knocked unconscious mid-air which rendered him unable to release his parachute
Officers received a 911 call from a woman believed to be Terry reporting a disturbance at her home and that a gun was involved. They then arrived to find the couple and their grandson dead from gunshot wounds
'My grandma, she was an amazing woman and I wouldn't have thought that could possibly happen. It didn't seem like it was possible.'
Chandra, who wed seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson in 2004, flew in on Tuesday night 'here to handle affairs, get everything in order, handle the funerals,' added Seth. 'She's the oldest relative.'
Speaking more of the reasons why Dalton was taken in by his grandparents, Seth said: 'Growing up, mom had a little bit of drug abuse. She struggled with that for a long time and she went to get help a few years ago. That was her problem.
A tearful Seth described his grandmother as 'an amazing woman' but admitted he never thought this 'could possibly happen'
'Dalton's father kind of wasn't there for most of his life and my mom had to travel elsewhere to get some help. My grandparents were there
