Police in New Jersey are investigating a suspected double-murder suicide in which they say a man massacred his wife, their young son and the family dog before taking his own life on Wednesday.
Officers responded to a single-family home in the 200 block of Nautilus Boulevard in Lacey Township just after 4pm for a report of a suspicious event.
Upon entering the house, they found the bodies of a 48-year-old woman and her seven-year-old son, who were pronounced dead at the scene. The family’s pet dog, a male Welsh corgi, was also dead.
Family massacre: Police in New Jersey say a 51-year-old man killed his wife, their 7-year-old son and the family dog before taking his own life in Lacey Township (family home pictured)
The woman’s 51-year-old husband was discovered inside the residence suffering from self-inflicted wounds and was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he, too, died a short time later.
As of Thursday afternoon, law enforcement officials have not released the names of the deceased, pending the notification of family members.
‘The one thing we can state definitively is that this event is over, contained and presents absolutely no danger to the surrounding community,’ Al Della Fave, a spokesperson for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a statement.
No motive has been given for the killings, but neighbor Shawn Durden, who lives next door to the deceased family, said the husband had recently lost his job.
A mobile command center is seen parked outside the deceased family’s home on Nautilus Boulevard after Wednesday’s murder-suicide
Another local resident tells APP.com she often saw the couple’s son playing with their pet corgi and jumping on a trampoline.
Neighbor Isabella Carey, 68, tells NJ.com she last saw the father on Sunday night as he was walking the family dog.
According to Carey, the man seemed eager to talk, but the conversation struck her as awkward because, in her words, he kept ‘zoning out’ but wanted to continue chatting with her, even though ‘there was nothing really left to say.’