A man who shot his partner and their two school-age daughters dead as they packed their bags to leave him then turned the gun on himself.
Police found the bodies of mum Cindy Clouse, Autumn Hagger, 13, and 10-year-old Mackenzie Hagger inside the family home in Lee Township, Michigan, USA.
Murder-suicide suspect Roger Kyle Hagger’s body was discovered nearby in the family home during the call-out on 7th January.
A concerned relative called police after he had gone 24 hours without hearing from Cindy, 35, and decided to go to the property.
Through a bedroom window, he had spotted one of the daughters motionless.
Allegan County Sheriff Frank Baker told local media: “My understanding is she reached out to a co-worker or friend to advise them she was looking to leave the relationship and to get her and the children out.”
He added that there was evidence that Cindy had been packing to leave when the shootings happened.
Baker said: “That may have been what sparked this tragic event.”
Cindy’s devastated sister Amy described Hagger, 34, as “controlling”.
But, she told local media: “We never expected him to be capable of hurting her or the girls.”
She added: “There was a side to him we didn’t know. If we did know, we would have helped her leave.”
Amy told local media her sister had worked at a nursing home and enjoyed taking care of her animals.
Autumn, she said, had dreamed of being a dermatologist.
Fennville Public Schools Superintendent Jim Greydanus described the girls as “kind, responsible, friendly, smiling, always doing the right thing, and truly remarkable students”.
Amy has since launched an online fundraiser to raise cash to pay for their funerals.
She wrote: “My name Amy Clouse, I’m Cindy’s older sister and best friend, her babies were my babies as they were to all the rest of our close family.
“Yesterday [7th January] all 3 of them were tragically taken away from us. We are asking for help to lay these beautiful angels to rest.
“They deserved the world but we can’t give them that. But with help we can say goodbye the right way.”
At the time of writing, it had raised USD 21,631 of its USD-30,000 goal.
It can be found here: www.gofundme.com/f/cindy-clouse-and-her-2-babies