Manatee County ‘Unimaginable’: Woman kills her 2 children, self in Lakewood Ranch, Manatee sheriff says

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said a mother killed her two children before killing herself in their Lakewood Ranch home earlier this week.

Deputies arrived at a home in the 8200 block of Pavia Way at around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday to perform a welfare check. The welfare check was requested by the woman’s husband and father of the children, who was out of town at the time.

MCSO Public Information Officer Randy Warren said the 45-year-old man became worried about his family after not being able to reach them during his trip.

After arriving at the home, Warren said it was “pretty obvious” to deputies that there were deceased people in the home. No other details were provided on what sparked their concern.

“I can tell you that this is a violent scene,” Warren said.

Warren said their official causes and times of death are pending the medical examiner’s investigation. He noted that there was a violent scene inside the home and that some evidence suggests the boy may have been killed first.

“It’s horrible to even imagine what would have been going through the mind of this mother that led up to this,” Warren said.

The family moved to the area from out-of-state around three years ago, Warren said, and there have been no incidents reported at their address since they moved in.

The idenтιтies of the deceased are being temporarily withheld out of respect for the family, but will be released later, Warren said.