‘VIOLENT END’
‘Devastated’ cops reveal chilling location of young kids ‘murdered by their mom’ inside ‘picture perfect family’ home
TWO children police believe were murdered by their mom were found in separate rooms with “traumatic injuries”, authorities have revealed.
Josh James, 14, and Emma James, 11, were found dead in their “picture perfect” Florida home alongside their mom, Monika Rubacha, 44.
Monika Rubacha is believed to have killed her children, then herselfCredit: Facebook
Rubacha is believed to have killed the two children before taking her own life in the family home in the gated community of Lakewood Ranch.
The children were killed in separate rooms of the home, before being found on Thursday at around 8:30pm.
It is thought older son Josh was the first die before Rubacha killed her younger daughter and herself.
All three were found when the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office were called to the home for a welfare check by dad Richard James, 45.
He was unable to get in contact with his family for a day and a half while he was on a business trip to South Africa.
“I can tell you that this is a violent scene,” MCSO Public Information Officer Randy Warren told WFLA.
“It’s horrible to even imagine what would have been going through the mind of this mother that led up to this.
“This is a horrible thing for the deputies to have to witness. Even worse, for the father and the husband who was on his way back from South America.
“He flew in this morning and had to be notified of what happened here. It’s an incredible emotional day for him. It’s not a good scene at all.”
Rubacha shared photos of the family over social media, with one Facebook friend describing them as a “picture perfect family” underneath a 2018 photo.
Autopsy results are pending, with the specific causes of death not confirmed.
US Weekly reported that officers found the mother had shot both her children, before turning the gun onto herself.
No one else is believed to have been involved in the apparent murder-suicide of the family, which moved to the area from Missouri three years ago.
There had been no previous incidents linked to the address.
The double murder-suicide occurred in the family’s Lakewood Ranch homeCredit: Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
