Sad New Details Revealed About The Family Of Five Who Died In A Murder-Suicide — And The Eerie Conversation The Dad Had Before Killing His Wife And Kids
The man who shot his wife and kids confided in his neighbor about marital issues the night before.
Facebook A Delaware man shot and killed his wife, three children and then turned the gun on himself Monday after complaining of marital problems and losing his job.
Matthew Edwards, 42, gunned down his 41-year-old wife Julie and their three kids, Jacob,6, Brinley, 4, and Paxton, 3 before taking his own life, ABC 6 reported.
The family's bodies were found in their Prices Corner home just after 8 p.m. Monday, police said.
"With a heavy heart, our thoughts and prayers are with this family," Delaware State Police Sgt. Richard Bratz said.
Matthew died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the five deaths have been ruled a murder-suicide, according to police.
“The individuals have been turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science where autopsies were performed and have ruled the deaths to be murder/suicide by gunshot,” police said in a statement.
A neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, said Matthew had recently complained about losing his job and separating from his wife, NBC 10 reported.
He reportedly told Matthew to "just worry about your kids."
The family appeared happy on social media. Julie posted many photos of her family and recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of her son, Jacob's successful open-heart surgery.
Jacob was diagnosed with William's syndrome, a genetic disease that causes cognitive and developmental delays. Both Julie and Matthew were strong advocates for raising awareness of their son's disease.
Sarah Umeroglu, who had been best friends with Julie for six years, told ABC 6 that she would never have guessed Matthew would do such a thing.
"He seemed like a very nice, calm, laid-back guy. I never would have expected this from him," she said.
Umeroglu said that Julie would have done anything for her three kids. She added that Matthew's job kept him away a lot, which was putting stress on their marriage.
"They were happy kids, they were really happy kids," neighbor Kim Ternenyi explained to ABC 6. "She was a wonderful mom, she was very dedicated to her kids. I can't believe all this."
Brian Covenko said he and his wife were friends with the Edwards and were in disbelief when they heard of the murder-suicide.
"I'm just shocked. There was no way to prepare for this," he said. "Our kids played together. We've been over to barbecues. Every time he was here, he was playing with his kids."
Covenko said he saw Matthew playing with his children outside all the time and wasn't aware of any serious issues.
"I don't know what happened inside of doors, but I know he was outside with his kids a lot."
Another neighbor said she heard explosions around noon but assumed they were from fireworks because of the recent holiday.
“It just sounded like pop, pop, pop, like firecrackers and didn’t pay it any mind because the Fourth was just a few days ago,” Alisha Garvin told CBS. “Didn’t pay it no mind at all.”
Garvin said that a child who was supposed to sleep over at the Edwards' home discovered the bodies when he was dropped off at their house.
“A neighbor said she watched him get out of the red truck, go inside and then rush right out,” said Garvin. “So apparently he had to have found them because no one else was around.”
Shortly after, the house was swarming with police.
Police have not released any further details about the shooting but because of its apparent nature, authorities stated that there is no further threat to the community.
"There is no concern for the safety of the surrounding area," police said.
Anyone with any information is urged to call police at 302-365-8441.
Sarah Gangraw is a travel-addicted cat lady who lives on black coffee and cheese. She has a degree in journalism and writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter — she's occasionally funny.