The bodies of five members of the same family were found by police last week. The gruesome discovery took place inside of a home in Elk Mills, Maryland, which is about 60 miles northeast of Baltimore, in a quaint cul-de-sac.
In a statement from the Cecil County Sheriff's Office, police made their way to the scene after receiving a 911 call on Friday morning. The caller reported "that three children and a female had been shot and were deceased."
When deputies arrived, they found not four but five dead bodies. The entire family had been killed in an apparent murder-suicide.
Deputies arrived about 10 minutes after the phone call was made. They found a body in the garage. Then they made their way into the home, where they found the other members of the family in "various locations."
The police statement acknowleged how the victims died. "All of the deceased appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds," the statement continued. "A semi-automatic handgun was located near the deceased adult male."
Authorities believe that the father, Marcus Edward Milligan, made the 911 call before turning the gun on himself. The victims were identified as Marcus Edward Milligan, 39; his wife, Tara Devina Ricker Milligan, 37; and their three children: 14-year-old Teresa Milligan, 11-year-old Nora Milligan, and Finn Milligan, who was 8.
"It's a horrific day, and I know everybody's prayers are appreciated," Sheriff Scott Adams told reporters on Friday. "My phone hasn't stopped ringing from people concerned about this and upset about this."
"It's grief is what it is at this point," Adams said. "Anytime you have a loss to these levels. Any loss is terrible, but a loss to this level, which is not a common thing — it's certainly not a common thing here in Cecil County — it's tragic and terrible and it takes a long time for people to process."
Police are unsure of a possible motive at this time.
