- Robert Hodges, 33, was arrested shortly after midnight Thursday morning
- Hours earlier, police say he killed his wife’s three children in front of her at their West Sacramento, California home
- Police are trying to determine if Hodges was the victims’ father
- They say his wife was a victim of domestic violence
- The children’s ages and genders have not been revealed, and police have not said how they died either
- However, two were in elementary school, SF Gate reports
- Hodges is expected to be booked on three charges of murder and one county of domestic violence
A 33-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for murdering his wife’s three children.
Robert Hodges was taken into custody shortly after midnight early Thursday morning, after he was pulled over by California Highway Patrol officers on Interstate 80 near West El Camino Avenue in Sacramento.
Hours earlier, police were called to a West Sacramento apartment complex for a domestic violence incident.
Three children were killed at this apartment complex in West Sacramento on Wednesday by their mother’s husband. Above, a view of law enforcement on the scene Wednesday night
Above, a view of the apartment complex in West Sacramento where the children were killed
On the way to the apartment, they got a second call, saying that the children in the apartment were possibly dead.
Police and first responders tried life-saving measures on the children but all three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say Hodges was married to the children’s mother, but it’s unclear if he was their father. He had fled the scene by the time they arrived.
West Sacramento police Sgt. Roger Kinney said the mother witnessed the killings, and that she, too, was a victim of domestic violence.
‘Obviously, she’s traumatized, and it’s going to take some time to find out what’s going on,’ Kinney said.
Police have not released details on how the children died. They also have not revealed their ages or genders.
However, SF Gate reports that two of the kids were in elementary school.
Hodges is expected to be booked on three charges of murder and one county of domestic violence