A grandmother expecting to babysit her two grandchildren found them dead Saturday, along with their parents in what cops believe may have been a triple murder-suicide.
The victims included the woman’s 31-year-old son, his four-year-old and two-year-old daughters, and the children’s 41-year-old mother, Police Captain Todd Enzbrenner announced at a press conference, Tulsa World reported. (RELATED: Maryland Man Accused Of Bludgeoning Father To Death Using Baseball Bats Charged)
The woman, who was supposed to take care of the girls, told officers that she found the family around 2:30 p.m. inside their mobile home at Sunburst Estates, Sand Springs, Oklahoma that day, after being unable to reach the children’s parents, according to FOX 23 News.
Witnesses informed cops that they heard a commotion at the victims’ home between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday and a loud banging, “like furniture being thrown around,” reported Tulsa World.
Police found the family’s bodies “all over the house,” Enzenbrenner said, according to the outlet.
PFLUGERVILLE, TX – MARCH 21: Police barricade the area surrounding the home of suspected Austin bomber Mark Anthony Conditt March 21, 2018 in Pflugerville, Texas. Conditt blew himself up near a hotel on Interstate 35 in the early morning hours of March 21 after police SWAT teams closed in on him. (Photo by Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)
“It’s traumatic for everybody that’s involved,” Enzbrenner said, Newson 6 reported. “Our guys are professionals and they’re going to do their jobs, but they’re also human and they feel the pain of seeing dead children.”
Counselors have been arranged to help police officers cope with the case’s graphic nature, according to People.
One neighbor, Matt Covington, told Newson 6 that he hopes the community can take a lesson from the tragedy.
“Checking on your neighbor and that kind of thing can go a long way. You never know,” Covington said, according to the outlet. “Or maybe, you could save somebody’s life.”