Arkansas police checking suicide call find man dead

A man killed his two young children before killing himself in a double-murder-suicide in his home in Arkansas, police said.

Little Rock police believe Robert Mangan, 39, killed his four-year-old daughter Catherine and five-year-old son Joseph before he took his own life.

The bodies were found Sunday by Mangan’s wife, Linsday Mangan. 

Officers were responding to the scene of what they believed was a possible suicide, but when they arrived, they discovered the two children were dead in a bed with their father, police said. 

Little Rock police believe Robert Mangan, 39, killed his four-year-old daughter Catherine (left) and five-year-old son Joseph (right) before he took his own life

The bodies of Mangan (right) and his two children were discovered Sunday by Mangan's wife Lindsay (left)

The bodies of Mangan (right) and his two children were discovered Sunday by Mangan’s wife Lindsay (left)

Lindsay discovered the bodies of her husband and two children all in the same bed in their Little Rock, Arkansas, home (pictured) on Sunday morning just after 11am

Lindsay discovered the bodies of her husband and two children all in the same bed in their Little Rock, Arkansas, home (pictured) on Sunday morning just after 11am

Four-year-old Catherine is pictured

Five-year-old Joseph is pictured

A cause of death wasn’t immediately released, but police said they were no obvious signs of trauma on the children. Catherine is left and Joseph is right

A cause of death wasn’t immediately released, but police said they were no obvious signs of trauma on the children.

All three bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s office for autopsies to determine causes of death, a police statement said. 

Officer Steve Moore said the children’s mother found the bodies.

According to Mangan's Facebook page, he was a truck driver 

According to Mangan’s Facebook page, he was a truck driver 

Investigators interviewed Lindsay and another person who lives in the residence with the family.

Lindsay told officers that she came home to find Mangan in a bed with their two children and all three were dead. 

She also told officers she and Mangan were recently separated and were having trouble.

Police are investigating the incident as a double homicide and suicide and the investigation is ongoing.  

The deaths come amid a dramatic spike in homicides in Little Rock. 

Following the Sunday deaths, Arkansas’ capital city has now seen 45 homicides this year, three more than all of last year.

A downtown Little Rock nightclub was the site of a shooting during a rap concert that left 28 people injured in early July.

The Little Rock Police Department began increasing officer patrols in certain parts of the city Friday in an effort to curb the violence. 

The bodies of the two children (pictured) and their father were taken to the medical examiner's office for autopsies to determine causes of death, a police statement said

The bodies of the two children (pictured) and their father were taken to the medical examiner’s office for autopsies to determine causes of death, a police statement said

Little Rock police were responding to the scene of what they believed was a possible suicide

When officers arrived, they discovered the two children were dead in a bed with their father, police said

Little Rock police were responding to the scene of what they believed was a possible suicide, but when they arrived, they discovered the two children were dead in a bed with their father, police said

Investigators interviewed Lindsay (left) and another person who lives in the residence with the family. Lindsay told officers she and Mangan (right) were recently separated and were having trouble

Investigators interviewed Lindsay (left) and another person who lives in the residence with the family. Lindsay told officers she and Mangan (right) were recently separated and were having trouble

Police spokesman Steve McClanahan told The Associated Press Monday that even with police working additional hours, situations like the apparent murder-suicide won’t be prevented.

‘You could have a thousand extra police, and you’ll still have this,’ McClanahan said.

Little Rock is on pace to approach an annual total of homicides not seen since the city’s gang wars of the early 1990s. 

Justice Department figures show 68 deaths in 1993 attributed to murder or manslaughter. 

Little Rock police spokesman Steve McClanahan has said other killings, such as justifiable homicide, pushed the total to 78 that year.

Police spokesman Steve McClanahan told The Associated Press Monday that even with police working additional hours, situations like the apparent murder-suicide won't be prevented

Police spokesman Steve McClanahan told The Associated Press Monday that even with police working additional hours, situations like the apparent murder-suicide won’t be prevented

KATV 

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