Family Of Four Found Dead

"MESQUITE, TX — A woman shot and killed her husband and two young adult children before killing herself in their suburban Dallas home, investigators said Thursday.

"The bodies of Angelica Vazquez, 43, her husband and their two children were discovered four days after officers first responded to a 911 call reporting the sound of gunfire but found no reason to go into the family's Mesquite home, police spokesman Bill Hedgpeth said.

"A handgun was found near Vazquez's body in the master bedroom, Hedgpeth said. The bodies of Marcelo Vazquez, 44, and their children, 18-year-old Alejandro and 21-year-old Paulina, were found in separate rooms in the house.

"Angelica Vazquez's death was ruled a suicide, while the other three deaths were homicides, the Dallas County medical examiner's office said in a statement issued Thursday.

"Hedgpeth said police initially went to the home Saturday morning after a female 911 caller on a cellphone said she'd heard gunfire. Officers knocked on the door, looked in the windows and spoke to a neighbor but found no reason to force their way in, Hedgpeth said.

"The same officers returned to the home Wednesday after their days off, found newspapers and mail piling up and decided to go inside, he said.

"The officers were proper to leave Saturday without taking action, Hedgpeth said.

"`Frankly, when there are no signs of forced entry you clear the call,` he said. `I think they used due diligence by going back like they did.`"

From chron.com...