CORSICANA, Texas — A couple and their three children were found shot to death in their North Texas home in what authorities believe was a murder-suicide, a sheriff said Monday.
Authorities have yet to determine who fired the shots, though the children's father was arrested less than two weeks ago on a family violence charge.
The father of Israel Alvarez, 33, called 911 on Sunday night after discovering the bodies of his son, 33-year-old daughter-in-law Guadalupe Ronquillo-Ovalle and their children with gunshot wounds to their torsos, Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner said.
He said a rifle was found at the home on the outskirts of Rice, about 40 miles southeast of Dallas. Autopsies have been ordered.
Investigators were trying to determine when the shootings took place, Tanner said, adding that the children, ages 4, 8, and 12, were in school Thursday but missed classes Friday.
Alvarez was arrested Sept. 11 on a misdemeanor family violence charge for pushing Ronquillo-Ovalle and taking away her phone because he thought she was talking to another man, she told deputies.
Alvarez was charged with family violence assault.