A MOTHER-of-two has tragically killed her children and herself in a violent double murder-suicide.
Monika Rubacha carried out the horrific killing inside her glamorous gated-community home in Florida while her husband was away on a business trip.
Police arrived to the £1.2 million ($1.7 million) Lakewood Ranch residence on Thursday evening after her husband – Richard James – requested a welfare check, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
James was on a work trip to South America and had grown concerned after he was unable to contact Rubacha for more than a day and a half.
Responding deputies found Rubacha, 44, and her two children Josh James, 14, and Emma James, 11, dead inside the home.
All three had “traumatic” injuries, according to authorities.
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Randy Warren – a spokesman for the sheriff’s office – told the New York Post that “right away you could tell something wasn’t right.”
“There were signs of homicidal violence,” he said.
“It’s unimaginable that two children were killed inside their home by a parent, and then she took her own life.
“We really don’t know all that was in her frame of mind.”
US Weekly reported that officers found the mother had shot both her children, before turning the gun onto herself.
The investigation also determined that Rubacha killed Josh and Emma in separate rooms before killing herself.
Police believe Josh may have died earlier than his sister and mother, according to the Herald-Tribune.
Investigators were “confident” nobody else was involved in the murder-suicide.
“I can tell you that this is a violent scene,” Warren said.
“It’s horrible to even imagine what would have been going through the mind of this mother that led up to this.”
He also said the early evidence indicated a level of planning, demonstrating that the mother “knew what she was doing”.
Warren said James had been notified of the deaths upon his arrival back into the country.
“He flew in this morning and had to be notified of what happened here,” Warren said.
“It’s an incredibly emotional day for him.
“It’s not a good scene at all.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
Warren revealed the family-of-four had moved to the area about three years ago from Missouri.
There had been no previous incidents linked to the address.
“There’s really nothing there that would have indicated this would have happened,” Warren said.
The double murder-suicide has left the neighbourhood reeling.
“It’s a total surprise and shock. This neighbourhood is so quiet,” said Paul Henne, a resident of Lake Club told Fox 13.
“It’s a family community, with small kids it really hits you heard when you hear about that stuff happening,” he added.