Teen Siblings Find Bodies Of Mother, 6-Year-Old Girl A Day After Apparent Murder-Suicide

Police in Texas are investigating the death of a 6-year-old girl reportedly killed by her mother, who then took her own life. The tragic murder-suicide came to light when the woman's two other children, a 13-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old boy, discovered the bodies of the victims Tuesday, police said.

Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a house near Spring on Tuesday after they received a 911 call from the teen boy informing them about the bodies they found inside the house. The teenager had also called his dad, the woman's ex-husband, asking him to come and pick them up, ABC 13 reported.

According to reports, the mother and child died from apparent gunshot wounds. The unidentified woman was last seen alive by her teen children Monday, police said, as reported by Click 2 Houston.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he believes that the woman was undergoing marital problems with the 6-year-old girl's father. The man travels for work and was gone a lot, he said.

The couple was separated since October and the woman was depressed and struggling with mental health issues, police said. Officials believe the mother was alone with her daughter at the time of the fatal shooting.

The woman's ex-husband said he was heartbroken for his son's half-siblings but grateful that his son is safe.

In a similar case of a murder-suicide reported last month, a woman in Philadelphia was fatally shot by her children's father, who later killed himself. After the woman's death, the couple's 2-year-old triplets went missing but were later found safe by the police outside Montgomery County. The woman, Maisah Larkin was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds to her head after she was shot by her partner, 37-year-old Stanley Baptiste. Baptiste fled the scene after the shooting and turned the gun on himself when he was stopped by cops, reports said.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours a day, all seven days a week.