MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Madison man accused of killing his developmentally disabled son then attempting to take his own life at an area park has died. Authorities say Friday that 47-year-old Theodore Peterson died from “self-inflicted trauma.” Authorities say Peterson killed his 16-year-old son, Maxwell, at Token Creek County Park on Tuesday then tried to kill himself. A passer-by found them along a park trail. Search warrants say the boy’s throat was cut and the father had been shot in the head with a nail gun. Maxwell Peterson was suffering from a rare neuro-genetic disorder. The family released a statement Friday saying that Max was an angel who brightened everyone’s life and Ted was a loving husband and father. The family says both will be missed.
