Mother finds bodies of her children, their dad

A mother found the bodies of her two young children and their father in a wooded area Tuesday after the man called her threatening to harm them, police said.

The mother called police about 3 p.m. to report a possible suicide, and when officers arrived, she could be heard screaming, authorities said.

The man was apparently distraught over his relationship with the woman, said Montgomery County Police officer Melanie Hadley, and threatened in a phone call to hurt the children. The mother called police, then went to where the father said he was and found the bodies more than 100 yards from the road.

Authorities did not say how the three, a 35-year-old man, 3-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy, died. Police kept the victims’ names confidential until other family members could be notified.
The cause of death was under investigation. Autopsies would be performed Wednesday or Thursday, Hadley said.

The deaths came a week after a man and his four young children were found dead in a townhouse about 20 miles away. In that incident, police said three young girls had been suffocated, and their brother died from skull fractures. The father hanged himself from a bannister with nylon rope. The mother is still missing.