New details have surfaced about the deaths of a family of five in an apparent murder-suicide. The family's bodies were found around 2PM on Saturday afternoon, August 6, in their home in a subdivision in Sinking Spring, a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams identified the victims as Mark Short, 40, his wife, Megan, 33, and their three children -- 8-year-old Liana, 5-year-old Mark, and 2-year-old Willow, CBS Local listed. The family was previously covered by the media when Willow had to undergo a dangerous heart transplant in 2014. Willow was in need of a heart donor when after she was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect.
Adams said all five family members died due to a gunshot wound. The family's dog was killed as well.
As of late, it's still unknown which parent did the shooting or what triggered the violence, but police found a handgun near one of the adults. Berks County District Attorney's detectives said Mark's remains will undergo an autopsy, but none are planned for the other four deceased individuals, People reported.
Police also said they found a handwritten note from the scene of the crime, but they didn't disclose its contents. An investigation, however, revealed that the Short couple had domestic issues, according to NBC10.
Mark's relatives said Megan was preparing to leave her husband. Megan's plans to get a divorce possibly destroyed Mark, who, according to his cousin, was a "family guy" and a man who "worked himself to death to try and keep his family together," a separate report from NBC10 revealed.
Mark's relatives said he took his family to Disney World in February in an attempt to mend his broken relationship with Megan and convince her to stay in the marriage. That plan, however, seemed to be unsuccessful.
A report from the Reading Eagle claimed that Megan's plan to leave Mark wasn't a secret. A friend said Megan shared her marital problems on Facebook.
Megan commented on an online article about spousal abuse titled "He didn't hit me. It was still abuse" and wrote, "It really does a number on your mental health for sure." She said it the emotional abuse was the reason why she wants to leave Mark, her husband of 16 years.
Robert McLaughlin, Mark's brother-in-law, said there's a "zero percent chance" that money troubles incited the shootings. A neighbor of the Short family, meanwhile, told People that she saw no signs of trouble during her short interactions with the couple, who she described as "sweet" and "mostly kept to themselves."
