Tragedy struck in Westmoreland County as a married couple and their two young children were discovered lifeless, in what authorities believe to be a case of murder-suicide.
Pennsylvania State Police are currently investigating an incident that occurred at a residence on Keck Lane in Hempfield Township.
The victims have been identified by Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson as Paul Swarner, aged 35, Karen Swarner, aged 32, Evelyn Swarner, aged 5, and Connor Swarner, aged 1.
“It’s unthinkable. Unfathomable. To be honest with you I don’t have the words to describe how awful,” said Trooper Steve Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police. “I mean you’re talking about your wife, but then a five year old and then a one year old. It’s just devastating.”
Troopers received a distress call at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday from Karen Swarner’s father. He had conducted a welfare check on the family and tragically discovered his daughter, Paul Swarner, and their children deceased.
No one was able to reach the family on Thursday after their last contact on Wednesday, according to the police.
According to the family, Karen Swarner appeared to be calm and not in any distress during their last conversation with her, as reported to the police.
“Hopefully we can give some type of information to the family as to why but right now? There’s no reason for something like this to happen,” Limani said.
Troopers are currently investigating the motive behind Paul Swarner’s tragic act of killing his family and himself. They are also working on establishing a timeline to determine when the shootings took place.
“Were trying to see if there’s a reason, there’s maybe a baby camera we’re trying to look through to see if there was anything that took place, see if there was a triggering point or something that would have caused Paul to have these, experience these thoughts,” Limani said. “Right now it’s just a big question mark, and its a very sad one.”
The U.S. Department of Justice highlights that previous incidents of domestic violence pose the highest risk in murder-suicide cases.
According to troopers, there have been no previous investigations into domestic violence at this residence.
Troopers have observed an increase in these types of cases during the winter months and around the holidays.
“No one knows what’s going through somebody else’s mind, so if you’re experiencing thoughts, realize there’s people out there that can help you,” Limani said.
This marks the second instance of a murder-suicide occurring in Westmoreland County since Christmas Eve, adding to the growing number of such incidents in our region during this period.
