Texas Woman Kills Husband and 2 Children, Then Herself, Police Say

The Associated Press By Jeff Carlton

Aug 1, 2007 (AP)

A stay-at-home mother in an affluent Dallas suburb fatally shot her husband and two children as they slept before killing herself, police said.

Detectives were reviewing a suicide note left in the house, where Andrea Roberts killed her husband, Michael Lewis Roberts, and children, Micayla, 11, and Dylan, 7, police said. Each had a single gunshot wound to the head.

Their bodies were found in their beds when next-door neighbor Tim Warren and Michael Roberts' mother checked on the family in the morning at the request of her son's employer after he missed a business meeting.

Michael and Andrea Roberts, both 41, had attended Micayla's soccer game the night before, Warren said.

"They seemed like the ideal couple, the ideal mom and dad," said Warren, who has lived next to the Roberts for about seven years. "Their kids were their lives."

Michael Roberts was a caring father who ran his own consulting business, Warren said. Andrea Roberts often volunteered as a room mother in her children's classes, said Charlotte Carson, a neighbor.

"She would always volunteer and step up," Carson said. "One of her biggest flaws was she couldn't say no."

Officers had responded to a domestic dispute call at the home, about 30 miles northwest of Dallas, in January after the couple had a disagreement. There were no injuries or arrests, police Lt. Wendell Mitchell said.

By Tuesday evening, neighbors had left flowers and signs on the front porch of the red brick home. One sign read, "We love you Roberts family."

In Ohio, the deaths of a 44-year-old woman, her 10-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter whose bodies found inside a Delhi Township house Tuesday were being investigated as homicides, although murder-suicide was "certainly a possibility," Hamilton County Coroner O'dell Owens said.

The woman's 24-year-old daughter, who doesn't live at the house, found the bodies, Owens said.

Note doesn't say why mom killed family

By Matt Curry, Associated Press Writer

FLOWER MOUND, Texas — The multiple-page, handwritten note left by a stay-at-home mom who killed her husband, their children and herself does not reveal her motive, authorities said Wednesday.

Shocked friends and neighbors in this Dallas suburb said they had known of no trouble between Andrea and Michael Lewis Roberts. The 41-year-olds and their two children -- Micayla, 11, and Dylan, 7 -- were found dead Tuesday morning, each with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Police Lt. Wendell Mitchell declined to release specific contents of Andrea Roberts' suicide note.

"She explained in the note she was taking the lives of her family, but she did not leave anything we could determine as a motive," he said.

The victims were shot in their bedrooms, but police have not determined the order of the shootings.

"They were shot sometime during the night. They were found in their beds. It did appear they had all gone to bed," Mitchell said.

Andrea Roberts was active in volunteer work while her husband operated a consulting business. Neighbors described them as a loving family whose lives revolved around their kids.

Officers responded to a domestic dispute call at the Roberts home in January after the couple had a verbal disagreement, but no one was injured or arrested, police said.

People who knew the couple had been unaware of any problems, but several told police that Andrea Roberts had recently lost a noticeable amount of weight. In a news release, Flower Mound police said, without elaborating, that Roberts did not have a terminal illness.

After the bodies were discovered, neighbors left flowers, stuffed animals and signs at their front door. A day later, the upscale subdivision was quiet, and the remembrances had been removed.

The Lewisville school district sent an e-mail Wednesday notifying parents that it would make counselors available for students and parents on Monday at a middle school.

Texas has seen a number of child killings by mothers in recent years, although none of them also involved the slaying of a spouse.

In May, a 25-year-old Hudson Oaks mother, Gilberta Estrada, hanged herself and her four young daughters in a closet in their mobile home. An 8-month-old girl was the lone survivor.

Murder Suicide in Flower Mound

By Bob Weir - Allenpub.com

August 1, 2007

As far as family friends and neighbors knew Andrea Roberts was a happy cheerful wife and mother of two children. She was active in the PTA and participated in other community events. Yet early Tuesday morning according to Flower Mound Police the 41 year-old woman fatally shot her husband Michael, 41, her daughter, Micayla, 11 and her son, Dylan, 7.

Police and investigators believe it was a murder suicide. The Flower Mound Police Department responded to a deceased persons call at 9:55 a.m. on July 31, in the 1800 block of Marble Pass Drive after receiving a 911 call from Tim Warren, a neighbor. Upon arrival, officers discovered four bodies; each appeared to have a gunshot wound to the head. The neighbor who was a key holder for the residence’ had gone to check on the Roberts family at the request of Mr. Robert’s employer who was concerned that Mr. Roberts didn’t show up at the airport for a planned business trip that morning. After entering the residence, the neighbor found the bodies and dialed 911.

Investigators believe that Mrs. Roberts took the lives of her family before taking her own. Investigators also found what appears to be a suicide note. The bodies have been released to the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office. Lieutenant Wendell Mitchell of FMPD stated. The investigation is still ongoing and it will take up to six weeks before we have a report from the medical examiners office. According to a police spokesperson, the preliminary investigation revealed a hand written suicide note at the residence indicating that Mrs. Roberts took the lives of her family before taking her own with a .38 caliber hand gun. In addition, the preliminary investigation has revealed medical history indicating that Mrs. Roberts did not have a known terminal illness.

As is standard with similar investigations, the final report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Officer will positively identify the weapon and the medical conditions of the family members. The investigation has also determined that each of the victims was shot in their bedroom, the order of which is still under investigation. Mr. Roberts was self-employed and Mrs. Roberts was not employed. A review of previous law enforcement activity at this residence included a single domestic call in January 2007. The call was in response to a verbal disagreement between Mr. and Mrs. Roberts in which it was determined that no offense occurred.

Michael and Andrea Roberts with her children Micayla and Dylan.