Father Kills Himself After Killing His Five Children

On Saturday, April fourth, a father shot and killed five of his children, aged from seven to sixteen in their home, fled, then killed himself near a casino miles away.

Early Saturday morning, police discovered the father in his car near the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, about 30 miles south of Seattle, cause of death: a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

When the police checked on the man's mobile home, four of the children were found dead in their beds, and the fifth in the bathroom.

Neighbors in the trailer park were shocked, dismayed, and tearful when they heard the news.

"How could something like this happen?" asked Mary Riplinger, whose kids had befriended the children. "Everyone's asking: Why did he do it? It's not right."

The mother was not at the home, and investigators believed that the parents were not in any type of conflict, and still have not figured out a motive for the slaughter.

"Clearly she's been very traumatized," Troyer said. "You kind of get hardened to seeing people who are killed because of their own bad actions. But these kids died through no fault of their own. This is something you never want to see."

Authorities did not release the names of the family, but Troyer released the fact that the dead children were four girls and a seven-year-old boy.

Dozens of investigators were reconstructing the crime in an attempt to discover what could have possibly motivated this monstrosity.