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Onyx Cornish, 18, was found dead last week in their Idaho home, draped in a Pride flag.
Delbert Cornish, who admitted to struggling with alcohol use and depression, told police he killed 18-year-old Onyx Cornish because his brother had bullied them and his other children.
An Idaho man is being held without bail after confessing last week to killing his queer 18-year-old adopted child and then wrapping their body in a Pride flag.
Delbert Cornish, who described himself as an alcoholic who struggles with depression, told Canyon County police he had purchased a gun last fall with plans to kill his three children and himself, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Idaho News 6. Cornish, who was taken into custody on August 18, said he didn’t initially follow through with the plan because his oldest son was sent to prison for violating parole.
But weeks after losing his job, Cornish told a Canyon County detective, he again started thinking about killing his children and himself.
Last Monday, police responded to a 911 call from Cornish’s younger, teenage son, who reported the shooting at the family’s Caldwell home, and found Onyx Cornish dead with a Pride flag draped over their body. After being taken into custody hours later at his ex-girlfriend’s residence in Mountain Home, Cornish admitted to murdering his daughter during a tearful confession.
“I’m not gonna lie, I did it, dude,” he told the detective, according to the affidavit.
Speaking with the detective, Cornish said he plotted to kill himself and his children because was tired of his brother Steven, whom the family lived with, belittling him and bullying his children. He said his brother called the children names like “pedophile, typhoid, loser, or Sally” and that he believed that they were better off dead because no one would take care of them when he was gone.
Cornish then described how, after his brother and 16-year-old son left home on Monday, he was contemplating shooting Onyx in their sleep when he was surprised by their opening her bedroom door. Startled, he then pointed the gun at his child and shot them in the head.
“For the next 20 minutes, I watched her gasp for breath,” Cornish said. “I’m a piece of shit, man.”
He then shot their cat, explaining to police that no one would be able to take care of it. And afterward, he draped his Onyx's body with a large Pride flag to honor them — “because it was something that meant a lot to her.”
The report said that when Cornish’s son, referred to as “L.C.,” returned home from school after the shooting, his father admitted to killing Onyx and then grabbed a gun and fired a shot at the floor. Cornish then pointed the gun at his son, but the teenager successfully disarmed him, fled, and called the police.
Upon arrival at the residence, the officers found a suicide note that included the words: “I’m 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.”
Onyx’s family has established a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses.
This article has been updated to better reflect Onyx's identity.
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