There had been nothing to indicate trouble in the spacious Johns Creek apartment where police on Monday found four bodies: a man, woman and two boys ages 12 and 5.
Neighbors say the man and woman who lived there were a happy couple. Police said their visit to the upscale Aylesbury Farms apartment a little before noon was the first time they'd been called there.
Answers may be hard to come by, as Johns Creek Police Chief Ed Densmore said the deaths appear to be the result of a murder-suicide. The causes of death have not been released. All of the deceased are believed to be related, though police have not released their identities pending notification of kin.
"It's a rather complicated crime scene right now," Densmore said at a late afternoon news conference. "We're going to be here for hours."
Those who knew the family were shocked to hear what had happened.
"The father comes out nearly every morning and puts the kids on the school bus," said one neighbor who lives in an adjoining complex. She said she routinely saw the boys playing outside.
Joseph Olander, who lives above the victims, called the man and woman who live in the apartment "a very loving couple." He reported hearing nothing unusual Monday morning.
Officers were dispatched after a welfare check was requested by a co-worker of one of the adult victims, Densmore said.
Densmore would not speculate on which member of the family did the killing.
"It's pretty bad as you can imagine," the police chief said. "Anytime you deal with something this bad involving kids, it's heart-wrenching."
Relatives of the deceased began arriving at the complex at 3 p.m. About that same time, children were returning home from school.
A group of 15 children, some of whom lived inside the area cordoned off by police, gathered near the scene of the deaths. Police escorted them to their homes, telling them a tragedy had occurred while assuring them they were safe.
"This is the first time we've seen anything like this," said neighbor Benjamin Rad. "You're shocked when it happens right next to where you live."
The homicides were the first in the history of Johns Creek, which was incorporated in December 2006.
Copyright 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
