‘All-American family’ including adorable siblings aged and five and one are wiped out after ‘unfathomable’ act
An ‘All-American family’ of four, including two young children, were killed inside their Pennsylvania home in what police have referred to as an ‘unfathomable’ act.
Pennsylvania State Police announced that they responded to a home in rural Ruffs Dale on Friday and found Paul Swarner, 35, his wife, Karen Swarner, 32, and their two young children five-year-old Evelyn and one-year-old Connor dead inside the same room, WTAE reports.
They had each died of a gunshot wound from a Ruger .22 that was recovered from the scene, and police now believe Paul shot and killed his wife and two children before he turned the gun on himself, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The couple had been married for nearly 10 years, and state police said they have no record of domestic violence incidents occurring at the Swarner’s home.
‘They seem like they had very successful jobs,’ Trooper Steve Limani said at a news conference. ‘Their home was the all-American home. There were toys for the children.
‘It looked like a very loving household with pictures and all the things that you would ever think that you would walk into a home and see,’ he continued, before calling the crime ‘unthinkable’ and ‘unfathomable.’
‘To be honest with you, I don’t have the words to describe how awful it is,’ Limani said.
An entire family of four, including mother Karen Swarner, 32, and her two young children, Connor, one, and Evelyn, five, were found dead inside their home Friday
Police believe the husband, Paul Swarner, 35, shot and killed his wife and children before taking his own life
‘You’re talking about your wife, but then a five year old and a one-year-old. It’s just devastating.’
‘It’s hard for a police officer to walk in [on something] like that, so I can only imagine what their family is going through.’
A motive for the murder-suicide remains unclear, and Limani said family members first started worrying when they could not get in contact with them.
He explained that the last person who spoke with any of the family members talked with Karen on Wednesday afternoon.
‘From all intents and purposes, there was no – what you would consider strife or any type of concern or fear of endangerment or anything like that,’ Limani said. ‘It was a normal conversation.’
But when Paul’s father tried to call the family the next day, and could not get through to them it raised some red flags.
‘They’re a type of family that stays in communication with each other,’ the trooper explained.
It was ultimately Karen’s father that called police to the scene at around 11.30pm.
Karen and Paul Swarner had been married for nearly 10 years, and a motive for the shooting is unclear
Police said they were first called to the scene at 11.30pm Thursday night
State police have served a search warrant on the family’s home and are ‘going through all of their electronic information’ in an effort to determine a motive
Following the grizzly discovery, state police served a search warrant on the family’s home and are ‘going through all of their electronic information’ in an effort to determine a motive.
But the shooting left friends and community members shocked, with one friend of Paul’s telling Trib Live that Karen ‘was always jovial’ and they both seemed like ‘loving parents.’
He explained that Paul traveled frequently for work in the oil and gas industry, while Karen worked as a physician assistant and took care of the children while he was gone.
Dick Shawley, who lives in the neighborhood, also told WTAE that he didn’t know the family well, but was there if they ever needed help.
He recalled giving the children Christmas gifts last month.
‘They were always jumping around and happy,’ Shawley said.
‘I played Santa over there and I’ll never get it out of my mind,’ he said of the news of the family’s death.
‘Such devastation. Such precious life.’
Any friends, family or community members who can now help determine a motive for the shooting is asked to call Pennsylvania State Police.
‘Our condolences go out to the families – and it’s just tough on law enforcement,’ Limani said. ‘We’re doing everything we can to try and give them the “why.”‘
