A Texas father of five killed the mother of his children and then turned the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide after the family returned from a Christmas party on Christmas Eve.
According to authorities, Arsenio González, 45 and Maria Gonzalez, 42 were found killed on their front lawn in Houston around 12:01 AM Christmas morning.
Five of their five children were between seven and sixteen years old. The trailer was located on Daun Street, 5600.
Their mother was found with severe head trauma, and Arsenio had a self-inflicted shotgun wound. On the spot, a gun was discovered.
“This couple (a husband and wife) were attending a family event earlier. They came home and then this incident occurred, so the investigation is ongoing,’ said Sgt. Greg Pinkins, Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
‘None of the kids were injured, nor did they witness anything at the time.’
Arsenio Gonzalez (45), allegedly murdered Maria after a brutal attack on his wife. He then turned the gun on himself.
The incident was ruled a murder-suicide by police. All five of the Gonzalez children were discovered in the trailer.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the horrendous act by the father.
To find out the motive, they are currently speaking with relatives of the victims to determine their family’s reaction.
Child Protective Services has been called to place the children with relatives and help them.
‘Right now, we’re in contact with CPS and we’ll let them determine who they will be released to, probably family members. We’ll continue to do our investigation here and we’ll be talking to family members who were probably at the party to see if we can get some background,’ Pinkins said.
Investigators from the county stated that all five children between 7 and 16 years old were found safe, but no one witnessed the tragedy.