Illinois Murder-Suicide: Father Kills 9-Year-Old Daughter Before Taking Own Life

In a tragic incident Thursday, a father allegedly killed his 9-year-old daughter before taking his own life. Police officers arrived at the crime scene after the child's mother asked them to check on her well-being.

The mother worried upon finding out that the girl was absent from school and alerted the police. When dispatchers arrived at the home in 100 block of Briar Ridge Lane in Lake Villa, Illinois, at about 2:15 in the afternoon, they found both the child and father dead.

“Based on the facts and circumstances obtained thus far, this is being investigated as a murder-suicide,” police told WGN-TV. “Preliminary information suggests the father took his daughter’s life before taking his own.”

Police said that the girl’s mother and father lived separately but shared custody of the child. On Wednesday, the mother allowed her daughter to stay with her father overnight. When the girl was not in school the next day, the mother got worried and called the father several times, but no one answered.

Members of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and Lake Villa Police Department are currently investigating the incident.

“This is an incredibly tragic set of circumstances, and our deepest condolences go out to the family of the child,” Lake Villa Chief Craig Somerville told WGN-TV. “I want to reassure the Lake Villa community that there is no evidence to suggest there is a threat to the public.”

In another recent incident in Oklahoma, a man killed his wife and two minor girls before stabbing himself to death. Police found the bodies of Anastacia (Stacy) Smith, 41, her 4-year-old daughter River Gale Ross and 2-year-old daughter Piper Ann Ross when they arrived at the home. The father was identified as 31-year old Phillip Ross. Sand Springs Police Chief Mike Carter said this was the worst thing he had seen in his 28 years of service, CBS-affiliated Newson6 reported.