Arpaio said they found a woman, 45-year-old Lisa Gerheart, a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl dead in the house.
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“We’re nearly sure this is a murder-suicide, but we haven’t closed the case”, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said, as reported by WAVE. “We’re leaving that little part open just in case someone else could have caused these three deaths”.
In a Facebook post, a woman who identified herself as one of Gerhart’s “dearest” friends, Paula Testa, said on the night of July 25, she “found the vehicle running w/ tubes from exhaust pipes into the home. called 911”. But we have a job to do; I don’t know if you ever get used to it, but here we’re talking about a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old.
“That’s probably what happened here, is the mother killing the two children, maybe over some time of problems internally with the family, and that’s sad”, Arpaio said.
Kyle (left) and Emily, when she was younger, (right) pictured above.
Deputies said a dog was also inside the home, but was uninjured.
In a subsequent post, she commented writing that Gerhart was ‘an incredible mom’.
Gerhart is believed to have shot her children before shooting herself, he said. “This is not characteristic of her at all”.
Authorities have contacted the children’s father and investigators were interviewing neighbors and checking records to see if the couple had any history of domestic violence.
Neighbor Connie Rivere told the Arizona Republic (http://goo.gl/YBmz75 ) that Gerhart was devastated and horrified that her husband had moved out.
Neighbor Judy Peaton told KNXV-TV (http://goo.gl/Ta8z75 ) that Lisa Gerhart was crying on Saturday because her husband had left her.
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But sheriff’s spokeswoman Courtney Palma says they are being investigated as suspicious deaths at this time. ‘There wasn’t anything anybody could do for her’.
