N.J. Mom Kills Husband, 2 Children in Murder-Suicide

A New Jersey community is reeling after authorities say a 42-year-old mother of two fatally shot her husband and children before shooting herself in a murder-suicide. 

Union County Sheriff’s Department officers found Andrea Alarcon and her husband Ruben Alarcon, 51, and their two daughters in their Union. N.J., home on Wednesday, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said in a press statement last week. 

Authorities have not named the daughters, but they have been identified as Scarlett, 9, and Emma, 6, in an online obituary. 

Investigators found the murder weapon next to Andrea’s body and determined that she fatally shot her 51-year-old husband and children before dying in a self-inflicted shooting, according to the press release. 

The home where the bodies were found was owned by the Alarcon family before it was foreclosed on by the bank, NJ.com reported, citing public records. 

It was sold in a sheriff's sale for $332,000 on Oct. 31, the outlet reported.

The family had 60 days to vacate, NBC New York reported. They had lived in the home for 15 years, a neighbor told the outlet.

The family had not been seen in their home recently, neighbors told CBS News, and one neighbor said they were not aware there were children living in the house. 

“In tragedies of this magnitude, there are no words that can heal, nor explanations that can serve to make sense of them to the public,” Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said in the press statement, extending his condolences to the family and friends of the victims as well as to the local community. 

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A tribute fund set up in the family’s honor raised more than $15,000 in less than a week. 

"Our hearts are grieving with the Alarcon Family, friends, and community for the tragic loss of this beautiful family," one donor wrote on the tribute page.

"May you all rest in peace knowing that you were loved, and that you all have touched the lives of so many people, even ones who never had the privilege of knowing you personally," wrote another donor.

Police have not revealed a possible motive behind the crime.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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