A former Meta engineer, his data scientist wife, and their 4-year-old twins were found dead inside their $2.1 million California home.
Police investigating the incident are treating it as a murder-suicide.
Anand Sujith Henry, 37, allegedly shot dead his sons and fatally shot his wife, Alice Benzinger, before turning the gun on himself, according to KTVU.
The couple was found dead inside the house with gunshot injuries besides a 9mm pistol and a loaded magazine inside the bathroom after police were called on for a welfare check on Monday.
The former Meta engineer’s two sons were found dead inside one of the five bedrooms.
A software engineer with a resume including stints at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Google, is believed to have killed his four-year-old twin boys before shooting his wife dead in the bathtub and turning the gun on himself in a heinous murder-suicide that rocked a… pic.twitter.com/6fY2uJwSDk
— Suleiman Ibrahim Abubakar (@Suleimabaker) February 16, 2024
The New York Post reported:
A cause of death for the two young children has not been released, but it is believed the boys were either smothered, strangled, or given a lethal overdose because there was no sign of trauma to their bodies, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC Bay Area.
A motive for the deaths remains unclear, as cops continue their investigation.
San Mateo police said in a statement:
“Based on the information we have at this time, this appears to be an isolated incident with no danger to the public, as we are confident the person responsible was located within the home.”
“This investigation continues as detectives work to gather evidence, speak to witnesses and family members and determine a possible motive.”
Police said they called the house a few times in the past but did not disclose details about the nature of the calls.
According to court records, the former software engineering manager at both Meta and Google had filed for divorce from Benzinger, a data science manager at Zillow in 2016.
However, the couple did not follow through with the divorce, and moved to their San Mateo home, where they would raise their two children in 2020.
“Before the babies were born, we would see the husband and the wife just taking a walk while she was pregnant,” Phyllis Halili told NBC Bay Area.
Some residents heard gunshots coming from the home before cops arrived, CBS reported.
“You hear it’s an entire family, and of course, your mind goes to a place of ‘What tragic event happened?'” said neighbor Ron Mifsud.
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