A man slit his own throat in front of his horrified kids after stabbing his wife to death in an argument over discipline, say police.
Police found 26-year-old Byanca Cruz dead at a property in Volusia County, Florida on Monday evening after a distressed 10-year-old boy ran to his next door neighbours to find help following the apparent murder-suicide.
The boy’s stepdad Oscar Salazar, 31, was then found with wounds on his neck, and later died in hospital. Three children were in the property at the time, with the two youngest understood to be his.
Investigators believe he stabbed Byanca multiple times after an argument over how she had disciplined their 5-year-old. One photograph released by police shows a bloodied black knife believed to be the murder weapon.
Reflecting the scene that played out at a family home, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told a press conference, reports Fox News : “This is really, really a heartbreaking story,”
“It is sickening on one end, again when you look you have three little kids involved here, a 10-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, who don’t have their mother anymore.”
He tweeted that the children will now need “a lot of love and support” from the community as they come to terms with their loss, and confirmed his office would be making arrangements with family members to ensure they “have everything they need”.
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