Texas Murder-Suicide: Woman Kills Her Young Children, Mother Before Fatally Shooting Herself

A woman in Texas shot her young children and her own mother to death before killing herself. Police said the exact motive was unknown, noting that the woman losing custody of her children to her estranged husband “very recently” could have prompted her to do so.

The incident happened inside a house at the Sedona Ranch Apartments on Henderson Pass. Police did not reveal the identity of the woman or her mother but said they were aged 38 and 68 respectively. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said in a news briefing that authorities believe the woman was ordered by a court to turn her 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son over to their father.

The bodies were found by the children’s father at around 9:30 a.m. (EST) on Monday when he checked inside from a crack in the window at the rear side of the apartment. He then dialed 911, McManus said. The responding officers found the bodies of the woman, her children, and her mother in two separate bedrooms.

The murder weapon was not recovered from the house but the police chief said all of them died from gunshot wounds.

“It’s tragic beyond words,” McManus told reporters. The authorities worked to pinpoint the exact time of the incident and what led the woman to commit the heinous crime. The father told police that the woman didn’t show any sign of violence before.

Police didn’t reveal any further details and the investigation was ongoing.

In July, a woman in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh set herself and her children on fire after her husband physically abused her. Police said the woman, in her 30s, doused herself and her 2-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son in combustible liquid prior to starting the fire. Police responded to the scene and rushed them to a hospital where the mother and the daughter were declared dead and the male child, who managed to somehow escape the fire, was treated. Investigators said the man asked for money from the woman and she refused, triggering him to beat her up.

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, every day.