A Pennsylvania family of four, the Swarner family, was found dead inside their home on Friday, January 24. What has been described as an "unthinkable" and "unfathomable" crime has led investigators to believe that this was a murder-suicide.
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The four family members who died are Paul Swarner, 35, Karen Swarner, 32, and their two children, Evelyn and Connor, 5 and 1, respectively, according to WTAE. Police arrived at the Swarner home on Friday and discovered the four dead bodies inside the same room. They arrived at the house after Karen's father, after not hearing from the family, decided to visit them and found them dead.
Police recovered a Ruger .22 handgun that is believed to have been used to shoot the victims. Further investigation has led authorities to determine that Paul Swarner killed his wife and two children before turning the gun on himself. At this time, however, no motive behind this tragic and violent crime has been found.
During a press conference, Trooper Steve Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police talked about the details of the crime. He was visibly shaken by the details of Paul's apparent murders and his suicide.
"I don't know what was going on with Paul. I don't know why it would have happened," Limani said. "It's extremely, extremely sad. I don't know. I don't know what's worse."
An All-American Home?
According to the Daily Mail, the family has no records of any reported domestic violence. "They seem like they had very successful jobs," Limani continued. "Their home was the all-American home. There were toys for the children. It looked like a very loving household with pictures and all the things that you would ever think that you would walk into a home and see."
Reportedly, the last time that anyone talked with one of the Swarner family members was on Wednesday, January 22. It was Karen who communicated with an unknown caller, but according to Limani, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Moreover, Limani said that "any type of concern for fear of endangerment" involving the Swarner family was out of the question at the time.
Limani then went on to say that it was "devastating" that, on top of Karen's death, the two children, Evelyn and Connor, were also killed in the apparent murder-suicide. "It's hard for a police officer to walk in [on something] like that, so I can only imagine what their family is going through," Limani said.
Family and friends were devastated after learning about the apparent murder-suicide carried out by Paul Swarner. A fellow neighbor, Dick Shawley, talked about his relationship with the family.
"I wasn't family, but I tried to help as much as I could and I didn't bother them. But if they needed help, I was there," Shawley said. "They were always jumping around and happy. I played Santa over there. And, I'll never get it out of my mind. Such devastation. Such preciousness life."
