A 50-year-old US man who was in the process of divorcing his wife killed her and their two children in the suburbs of New York City before shooting himself, police said on Wednesday.
Sam Friedlander bludgeoned his 46-year-old wife Amy to death with the leg of a table following a violent argument in their home in Lewisboro a town in Westchester County north of the city, police spokesman Michael Kopy said.
He then shot dead his 10-year-old daughter Molly and eight-year-old son Gregory in their bedrooms before heading to the basement and turning the gun on himself, firing one bullet into his own head, the spokesman said.
Friedlander did not leave a note explaining his actions, he added.
The couple were due in court on Thursday. Their home had been put on the market for $799,000.
Police said "people noticed changes" in Friedlander's behavior in recent days. The bodies were found after one of Amy Friedlander's colleagues, worried that she had no news of her friend, alerted police.