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UPDATE: Mother Killed Husband, Three Sons, Sheriff Says

Update, 12:50 p.m. Tuesday: Authorities say a North Texas woman was responsible for a murder-suicide in which she fatally shot her husband and three sons before killing herself.
 
The Navarro County Sheriff's Office said this morning that 33-year-old Guadalupe Ronquillo-Ovalle shot her husband Israel Alvarez, as well as their three sons, ages 4, 8 and 10, The Associated Press is reporting. Then Ronquillo-Ovalle shot herself in the head.

Investigators say the deaths happened sometime last Thursday or early Friday. Their bodies were discovered Sunday night by a relative at the family's house near Rice, 40 miles southeast of Dallas, between Ennis and Corsicana. Officials say that a motive has not been determined.

The killings came less than two weeks after the father was charged with family violence.

10 a.m. Tuesday: Authorities are trying to reconstruct what led to the shooting deaths of a North Texas couple and their three sons in an apparent murder-suicide.

The Navarro County Sheriff's Office planned a news conference Tuesday on the investigation into the killings less than two weeks after the father was charged with family violence, The Associated Press is reporting.

Sheriff Elmer Tanner on Monday declined to say who apparently opened fire at the family's house near Rice, 40 miles southeast of Dallas. A relative on Sunday night discovered the bodies of Israel Alvarez, his wife Guadalupe Ronquillo-Ovalle and their sons, ages 4, 8 and 10.
 
Records show Alvarez was arrested Sept. 11 on a misdemeanor family violence charge for allegedly shoving his wife. He pleaded no contest, paid a fine and was freed.

Our original post: A grandfather discovered the lifeless bodies of his three grandchildren, his son and daughter-in-law at their home in a Navarro County town between Ennis and Corsicana.

Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner said Monday that the victims were shot and the deaths are being investigated as murder-suicide, The Associated Press is reporting.


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Tanner says the man discovered the bodies of Israel Alvarez and Guadalupe Ronquillo-Ovalle with their children on Sunday night. A rifle was recovered from the home near Rice, 40 miles southeast of Dallas.

The children were aged 10, 8 and 4. Their parents were both 33 years old.
 
Records show Alvarez was arrested Sept. 11 on a misdemeanor family violence charge. He was accused of shoving his wife and taking her phone because he thought she talked to another man. Alvarez pleaded no contest, paid a $367 fine and was freed. 

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.