Authorities in Florida said that a father and two young children were found dead in his home in an apparent murder-suicide. The children have been identified as 5-year-old Aria Dingwall and 7-year-old Remy Dingwall, and their father as 37-year-old Joseph Dingwall.
The three were found dead in a Cocoa, Florida home a little after noon on Wednesday, October 7, according to the Cocoa Police Department, People reported.
A GoFundMe has now been launched for the children.
What we know about the tragedy
Police believe Joseph was “responsible for the children’s deaths” and the evidence at the scene indicates this was a murder-suicide, people reported. The kids were discovered after their mother called 911. She is the one who found the bodies, according to an audio recording of the call obtained by the Florida Today.
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Aria and Remy’s mother came to the house to check on the children because they missed school, according to the outlet. Police, however, noted that it was their mother's day to have custody.
{{/usCountry}}Aria and Remy’s mother came to the house to check on the children because they missed school, according to the outlet. Police, however, noted that it was their mother's day to have custody.
{{/usCountry}}The mother tried to reach Joseph when she went to the home, where the door was left ajar, per WESH. She found the bodies inside.
A neighbor told police that they heard gunshots around midnight at the residence, WESH, WFTV and Florida Today reported. Surveillance footage obtained by WFTV from a neighbor’s house from around that time shows a man stepping out of the house, pacing in circles, and then going back inside. It is unclear if that person was Joseph.
Aria and Remy Dingwall GoFundMe
The GoFundMe identified Remy and Aria’s mother as Olivia.
“Anyone who knew Olivia, even for a short amount of time, knew about her children. You couldn’t know Olivia without knowing how much Remy and Aria meant to her. They were her entire world. Her life revolved around them, and every part of her heart belonged to being their mother,” said the fundraiser.
Remy was described as a “strong, kind, and intelligent young boy”.
“He was in the gifted program at school and excelled at anything he put his mind to. He was a fierce protector of his little sister and his mother. Remy was the kind of boy who made the people around him proud, and he had an entire lifetime ahead of him,” said the GoFundMe.
Aria, on the other hand, was described as a “bright, courageous, and compassionate little girl who loved her squishy dumplings, all animals, and everything pink, just like her mama.”
“Remy and Aria were siblings, best friends, and each other’s little world. They should have had the chance to grow up together, make each other laugh, annoy each other, protect each other, and one day look back on their childhood with a lifetime of memories,” it added.
The funds raised will help Olivia with “funeral and memorial expenses, immediate living expenses, and the financial burdens that come with this unimaginable loss, so that she can have the time and space to grieve her babies without having to carry everything else alone.”
A separate GiveSendGo has also been launched for the slain children.