Family Of Five In Orlando Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide

KEY POINTS

Police found the bodies when they were called for a welfare check
The neighbors were unaware of the deaths till the police informed them
The deceased included three children, two of whom were girls aged 6 and 7

Orlando, Florida -- A family of five, including two children, were found dead by the Orlando Police in an apparent murder-suicide. The neighbors described the incident as a "sickening sadness", authorities said.

At around 1 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to a home in Southeast Orlando to check on the family. They discovered the bodies of three adults and two children, the New York Post reported.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Andrea Otero, a spokeswoman for the Orlando Police Department, refused to identify the deceased or provide their ages before notifying the kin.

A neighbor, Justin Rossilini identified the children as two girls of age 6 and 7 and an adult son. “I’ve had the past two days off. We’ve been home. I didn’t hear anything,” he told the local newspaper, Orlando Sentinel, mentioning that the family had only recently relocated.

Following the alleged murder-suicide, Cody Eades, a neighbor who didn't know the family closely, was shocked. “This can’t be happening. This really can’t. It’s devastating for this neighborhood and for their family to hear about this probably on the news,” he told a local newspaper. “If you are feeling that kind of way, don’t bring anyone else into (it).”

Eades further expressed that people should seek assistance and emphasized the importance of mental health, adding that it is crucial to look after oneself.

The feelings of disbelief and grief were common among the neighbors. J.J. Vargas, another neighbor, expressed his sympathy for the kids, saying that they had nothing to do with any of this. Vargas claimed that after telling his children what had transpired, he hugged them. “They might be friends from school,” he said, “As I said, we’ve been here for almost 20 years, so they’re bound to know these kids. We’ll wait and see.”

In a similar incident, a Connecticut woman is said to have strangled her three children to death before hanging herself in the family's backyard shed. According to neighbors, when the father of the murdered children entered the home and saw the horrific scene, he fainted.