An accountant for a railroad operator killed his wife and their three children before fatally shooting himself in a northwest Maryland home, leaving a gruesome scene that was discovered Saturday by the youngsters' grandfather, authorities said.
When investigators arrived at the two-story home, the couple's two sons, ages 5 and 4, lay dead in their beds, while the bodies of a 2-year-old daughter and the mother, Francis Billotti Wood, were in the master bedroom, Frederick County sheriff's office spokeswoman Jennifer Bailey said. On the master bedroom floor by the foot of the bed was the father, 34-year-old Christopher Alan Wood, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bailey said.
The 33-year-old mother and three children suffered "traumatic cuts" and each also had at least one gunshot wound from a .25-caliber handgun, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said. Autopsies are being performed to determine the exact cause of death.
The woman's father found them dead around 9 a.m. after forcing his way into the home. He went there worried because he hadn't heard from the family in several days.
Christopher Wood apologized in one of five notes he wrote to family members and left at the scene, and he indicated in a note that he had psychiatric problems, Jenkins said.
He wouldn't elaborate on what else was written in them. Jenkins also didn't specify a motive, but he said there was evidence that Wood, a sales accountant at CSX Corp., faced financial problems.
"We're all in shock and trying to come to terms," said Kevin Farmer, the pastor of Holy Family Catholic Community Church, where Francis taught catechism.
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He said the road the Woods lived on is a shortcut to the church and he would often see the children while riding a scooter he uses when the weather is good, CNN reported.
"They would always stop and wave and get big eyes as the scooter came by," he said. "They were very happy kids."
The family had moved to Middletown several months ago, friends said. It's a small community of less than 3,000 people about 10 miles west of Frederick.
Neighbor Peggy Lawrence described Francis Wood as a good homemaker and said she had grown up in the area. "It wouldn't lead you to believe anything was wrong," Lawrence said. "I'm still sick to my stomach. Just to see it end so quickly is so devastating and makes you realize you never know what's going on in people's lives."
