What is going on these days? Yet another family was found murdered in their home, and police suspect the parents were responsible for killing their three children and then themselves.
Two parents in their 30s were found dead alongside their children, ages 4, 7, and 12, inside their Maine apartment. Witnesses and friends are divided -- some say there were obvious signs of trouble brewing within the family, while others are expressing shock over this.
So, apparently, at least one family friend knew something wasn't okay. He or she reportedly asked a worker at the apartment complex in which the family lived to check in on them because she was concerned for their "well-being." The bodies of the adults and one child were found in one room, and the bodies of the other two children were located in two separate rooms, according to police. A preliminary examination by a state medical examiner indicated that each of the family members had been shot to death.
A "long gun" was also found next to one of the family members, along with shell casings. At this time, police are not releasing the names of the victims, nor are they reporting who they think actually fired the weapon.
A neighbor told police that she saw the father angrily driving away from the apartment building that morning and that he returned a short time later. She says he slammed the front door when he returned. The shootings are believed to have happened at 11:30 p.m., when neighbors say they heard a sound like "firecrackers" exploding.
Other neighbors have come forward to report that they found the dad to be a menacing-looking character, which, of course, doesn't mean much at this point other than that he, perhaps, wasn't the friendliest guy. One woman says the children's mother wouldn't let her come inside their apartment but agreed to meet her downstairs, and that the family kept their window blinds and curtains drawn.
Odd, maybe, but certainly not extreme enough behavior to associate with something as horrific as a possible murder-suicide. Assuming this is what police suspect it is -- and it should be noted that they do not believe there was any outside involvement in this crime -- how is it that this is happening so often without more people noticing trouble within the family?
What a sad story. These three young children had their entire lives ahead of them and didn't deserve to have everything end for them in the blink of an eye.
Why do you think we're hearing about so many of these family murder-suicides?
Image via jayneandd/Flickr