Arizona Mom and Two Children Found Dead in Suspected Murder-Suicide

Authorities are investigating a suspected murder-suicide after the bodies of a mother and her two children were found inside their suburban home in Phoenix.

Lisa Gerhart, her 17-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter reportedly were found with gun shot wounds, and a handgun was found near Gerhart’s body, CBS News reports. Officials state that it is likely she killed her children before taking her own life.

Police were waiting on the autopsy results however before making an official determination on the deaths.

“We’re almost sure this is a murder-suicide, but we haven’t closed the case,” Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Tuesday. “We’re leaving a little part open just in case someone else could have caused these three deaths.”

Authorities also found a hose attached to the exhaust pipe of a nearby car that led into a window in the house.

Neighbors have come forward and said that Gerhart was distraught after her husband reportedly left her and moved out of their home.

[CBS]