'Distraught' Dad Comes Home To Find Two Daughters Dead, Wife Injured In What Cops Believe Was Murder-Suicide Attempt

A California man came home from work Tuesday afternoon to find his two daughters dead in the garage and his wife injured in what authorities believe was an attempted murder-suicide.

Ontario Police said suicide notes left at the home indicate the woman planned to kill her daughters, ages 4 months and 14 years old, and then take her own life, local station KTLA reports.

“Right now, what we can tell you is that the children were intentionally killed. It appears as though the mother is the one responsible for that act,” Ontario Police Department Sgt. Bill Russell said.

Police declined to reveal what was written in the notes, which were found inside the family’s home and in a car, but said the woman had been “dealing with depression,” according to ABC News.

The girls’ father discovered their bodies in the garage of the family’s home Tuesday afternoon. He had last seen them alive earlier that morning when he left for work.

“Once (the father) discovered (the victims), he called the police in a lot of distress," Russell said, according to KABC. "The father is distraught. You figure at this point, he's lost both his children and his wife is in the hospital injured, and he's lost everything at this point. I'm sure he's dealing with a lot of stress and a lot of emotion."

Authorities did not reveal how the two girls died, but said investigators have ruled out carbon monoxide or noxious fumes.

“We do know that there was a struggle at the scene, which may have played a factor in the deaths,” Russell said. “There were visible injuries on the children.”

According to police, the 14-year-old child had special needs.

The children’s mother, who has not been publicly identified, was transported to the hospital, where she is in stable condition. No charges have been filed against her at this point.

“Her ability to talk or comprehend is still undetermined,” Russell said.