[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Triplet toddlers have been found safe after their parents horrifically died in a murder-suicide.
Philadelphia police responded to the home of Maisah Larkin (pictured above) on Sunday after reports of a “person screaming” coming from the neighborhood, according to an incident report. When police entered the home they found a heartbreaking sight — Maisah’s body was on the floor; she had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene, but what concerned law enforcement even further was what they didn’t find.
The woman’s 2-year-old triplets were missing…
Police assumed Stanley Baptiste, a 37-year-old man believed to be the 39-year-old woman’s partner, knew where the toddlers were. It was assumed he shot the babies’ mother and fled the home with them after he was sure she was dead. Just awful.
Related: 8 Teenage Girls Charged With Murder After Allegedly ‘Swarming’ A Stranger!
A day later, however, police found Baptiste’s body in his Lincoln Navigator. He had also suffered a gunshot wound — which was determined to be self-inflicted, turning the presumed killing into a murder-suicide. The situation only got more intense, though, when the children were nowhere to be seen.
Both witnesses to the crime were now dead, and law enforcement were still missing the three little ones. So scary…
Pennsylvania State Police pleaded with the public for help finding the missing triplets, unsure where to go from this point forward. The clock was ticking away — the toddlers were too small to fend for themselves or get help, so police didn’t have much time to find them before it was too late.
On Tuesday, officers followed leads to a relative’s home about 35 miles outside of Philadelphia — and there they found all three of the babies. Thankfully they were unharmed, much to the relief of the community.
Sadly, it was too late for their parents. Police are officially investigating the deaths as an act of domestic violence — something Maisah’s mother confirmed had been going on too long when speaking to ABC 6:
“She was planning on leaving, but she didn’t leave fast enough. I am still in shock. When I heard what happened, I just broke down and cried.”
Just heartbreaking…
A GoFundMe was set up by the triplets’ aunt, with donations going toward care for the children as well as the memorial services for their late mother. The description of the fundraiser asks everyone for prayers during this difficult time. If you’d like to donate, you can do so HERE.
Our hearts are with the triplets, as well as their family and loved ones. May Maisah rest in peace.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via GoFundMe/6abc Philadelphia/YouTube]
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