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Background: News footage of the Ruffs Dale, Pa., home where the Swarner family was found dead (KDKA). Inset: Karen Swarner with her two children (Facebook).
A Pennsylvania family was found dead in their home of shotgun wounds, and police suspect it was a murder-suicide at the hands of the children’s father.
KDKA, a local CBS affiliate, reported that the family of Paul Swarner, 35, had been trying to call their son by phone but calls were not being answered. That led the father of Karen Swarner, 32, to go to his daughter’s house at around 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 23. Inside, he found his daughter, son-in-law, and their 5-year-old daughter Evelyn and 1-year-old son Connor, all deceased.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani held a press conference hours after the grisly discovery and the investigation that was going to take place. He stated that it appeared that Paul “took the life of his wife, his 5-year-old child, and his 1-year-old child … basically a baby, and then took his own life.” Limani also mentioned that the last known family member to speak with Karen Swarner on Jan. 22 told police that there was no “strife” within the family that was known, or “any type of concern or fear of endangerment.”
Relatives of Paul Starner attempted to call their son’s family on Jan. 23, but no one answered the phone, which was a cause for concern. The lack of response prompted Karen Swarner’s father to go to his daughter’s home. He called 911 after finding the entire family dead.
Limani painted a picture of an “all-American family” that had “very successful jobs” and “toys for the children. It looked like a very loving household with pictures and all the things that you would ever think that you would walk into a home and see.” He stated that there had not been any domestic violence calls made to the home. Limani urged anyone with information about the family to come forward with more information.
If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or considering self-harm, help is available immediately at the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.