Tragedy struck Westchester County, New York as two adults and two children were discovered dead in their home. Police suspect the incident was a murder-suicide.
The Pleasantville Police Department visited the home after the two children were reported absent from school. Inside they found the bodies of Tom Liu, Dorothy Liu, 7-year-old Tennison Liu, and 4-year old Adeline Liu.
According to news reports, a preliminary investigation revealed that the father had taken the lives of his wife and two young children with a knife, before taking his own life inside the Pleasantville home.
A motive for the murder-suicide is unknown. There were no previous reports of domestic violence at the home, but police say that evidence suggests that the father was under an extreme amount of stress.
Police are still investigating the incident and grief counselors are on-hand to help the community cope with the tragedy.
“As you can imagine, all our hearts are broken with the news of this incredible tragedy,” said Superintendent Mary Fox Alter. “This is a very small community, and it impacts all of us in this small village.”
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“This is probably as all-American of a community as you can imagine,” neighbor Brian Skarstad shared. “People of all stripes live here, but it’s kind of your Norman Rockwell town. And nothing ever happens here. Police don’t have anything to do. So when something like this happens, it’s devastating.”
“This is the nicest family. Sometimes you hear horrible things happen, and you think, well I could have predicted that. But in this case, you couldn’t have. They were just a lovely, lovely family.”