A Florida mother killed her two young children before taking her own life in a $1.7 million home within a gated community in Lakewood Ranch, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Police arrived at the scene around 8:30 p.m. Thursday after the husband, Richard James, who was on a business trip in South America, requested a welfare check because he had been out of contact with his family for over a day and a half.
Inside the home, authorities discovered Monika Rubacha, 44, and her two children, Josh James, 14, and Emma James, 11, deceased. Authorities stated that all three showed signs of severe trauma. The medical examiner has not yet released an official cause of death.
Preliminary investigations determined that Rubacha killed each child in separate rooms before ending her own life. Police confirmed there are no other suspects involved. The case remains under investigation.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office described the scene as extremely violent. The family had moved to the area about three years ago, and there were no previous incidents recorded at this address.
