Two Toddlers Among Four Family Members Dead In Gruesome Suspected Murder-Suicide

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

The Upper West Side of Manhattan is reeling right now after four shocking deaths in an apartment there that police believe to be a tragic murder-suicide.

On Monday, the NYPD was called to perform a wellness check at an apartment in a building on West 86th Street. Cops got to the apartment in question at about 2:56 p.m. local time on Monday afternoon. Along with the help of fire department officials, they were able to gain entry to the locked apartment. Once inside, they found an unspeakable tragedy.

According to a spokesperson for the NYPD, who spoke to CBS New York and other media outlets during a briefing on Monday evening, officers discovered four bodies inside the apartment. They were those of an unnamed 41-year-old man, an unidentified 40-year-old woman, and two children, who police noted were only one and three years old. The cops were able to quickly confirm that the two deceased toddlers were those of the two deceased parents in the apartment — and thus, all four had been part of the same nuclear family.

All four victims were immediately pronounced dead at the scene of the crime. Both of the adults had “trauma to the neck,” per the police spokesperson. The children had had trauma to “the torso,” and “about the body.”

Sickening…

Now, police are trying to figure out what led to the four victims’ deaths. Preliminary indications suggest the scene was a murder-suicide, but cops are still trying to figure out why it happened and what led up to the ordeal. Per CBS New York, the male victim was apparently the “longtime superintendent of the building.” One media report even claimed the adult male victim had lived in that building “since he was a boy,” according to People.

It appears all four victims’ injuries were “consistent with stab wounds,” per detectives and the medical examiner. And according to ABC 7 News, there were at least three knives recovered at the scene. However, there was no note left at the scene. Also, there was no sign of forced entry to the door or elsewhere in the unit — hence why cops believe it to be a domestic-related issue that turned into a tragic murder-suicide.

You can see more on the ongoing investigation (below):

Such a shocking and gut-wrenching incident…

There are seriously no words to say when it comes to trying to make sense of a tragedy like this. It’s just heartbreaking.

If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.

[Image via CBS New York/YouTube]