Share and Follow
While away on a business trip, a Florida father received devastating news: his wife had taken the lives of their two children before ending her own, in what officials are describing as an “unimaginable” event.
The tragic discovery was made on the morning of February 26, when the bodies of 44-year-old Monika Rubacha, her 14-year-old son Josh, and her 11-year-old daughter Emma were found in their Lakewood Ranch residence. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, responding to a welfare check requested by the children’s father, released this information to Oxygen.
Upon arriving at the scene, deputies noticed certain undisclosed “circumstances” that prompted them to enter the house. Inside, they uncovered the bodies of Rubacha and her children, all of whom had suffered “traumatic injuries,” according to the authorities.
“Through our investigation, we have determined that the mother killed her two children in separate rooms before taking her own life,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Currently, there is no evidence suggesting the involvement of any other individuals.”
Authorities are awaiting autopsy results to officially establish the causes of death.
Rubacha’s husband, who wasn’t identified, had been away on a business trip in South America at the time of the killings and became concerned after he could not reach his family.
“This is a horrible, horrible thing for the deputy staff to witness [and] even worse for this father and the husband, who was on his way back from South America,” Public Information Officer Randy Warren said at a press conference, according to People. “He flew in this morning, had to be notified of what happened here. It’s an incredibly emotional day for him. It’s not a good scene at all.”
Sheriff Rick Wells told WWSB that investigators are still trying to determine what may have motivated the violence, saying, “We don’t understand what’s going on with people and their mental health and what’s going on behind closed doors, and a case so horrific like this is something that maybe no one could have ever predicted.”
He added that they were unaware of any clues that may have suggested the family was under stress.
“I don’t know if there were signs that maybe family members didn’t pick up—we don’t know,” Wells continued. “All we can do is try to take an opportunity to talk to families and let them know if you see something going on and a family member needs help, you need to reach out and try to get that help for them.”
Warren confirmed, according to Fox 13, that there had been no prior 911 calls to the house since the family had moved to Florida three years ago from Missouri.
”It’s unimaginable,” he said, “that two children were killed inside their home by a parent, and then she took her own life.”