Police Suspect Virginia Man Killed Wife And Three Kids In Murder-Suicide

Los Angeles Times

A family of five was found shot to death in their Virginia home late Sunday in what authorities suspect was a murder-suicide.

A relative walked into the Culpeper, Va., house around 10 p.m. Sunday and discovered the bodies of the parents, Clarence and Shauna Washington, both 35, and their three daughters, said Det. Angela Deavers of the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office.

The couple and their daughters, Onesha, 13, Onya, 6, and Olivia, 4, had all been shot, Deavers said, and a weapon was recovered at the scene.

Investigators say they suspect Clarence Washington killed his family in a murder-suicide, and sheriff’s deputies and the Virginia State Police are continuing the investigation.

Deavers said the sheriff’s office had no history of 911 calls to the family’s address, and had no information about whether the couple had ongoing domestic troubles.

Culpeper is about 90 miles northwest of Richmond, Va.

AFP Photo/Mat Hayward

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