In the quiet stillness of a summer night in Buffalo, New York, a devastating tragedy unfolded, leaving a family extinguished and a community in shock. On August 7, 1924, Henry H. Lyon, a 45-year-old man, turned a weapon on his sleeping family, forever silencing the lives within their home at 122 Claremont Place.
The victims of this horrific act were Lyon's wife, 40-year-old Agnes, and their two young sons, Roger W., aged 8, and Henry Jr., who was only 5 years old.
In the dark of the early morning, at approximately 12:15 A.M., Lyon methodically shot his wife and children as they slept in their beds. Following the unimaginable act of annihilating his family, Henry Lyon then turned the gun on himself, taking his own life in a bedroom of their home.
The alarm was raised by an upstairs neighbor, Harlow M. Davis, who contacted the police shortly after midnight. Upon their arrival, authorities discovered a scene of profound sorrow. Agnes Lyon was found deceased in her bed, located in a room off the dining area. The two young boys, Roger and Henry Jr., were found in their own beds, each having been shot through the left eye. Henry Lyon's body was discovered in a front room, having sustained a fatal, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the left side of his head.
In the aftermath of the murder-suicide, investigators were left with a haunting question to which they would find no answer. Despite their efforts, a motive for Henry Lyon's violent and final act was never determined, leaving a permanent veil of mystery over the tragic end of the Lyon family. As there was no surviving perpetrator, no arrests were made in connection with the deaths of Agnes, Roger, and young Henry Jr.
