Police: Man kills 3, then himself in NE Phoenix

[November 13, 2013]  PHOENIX (AP) -- A man apparently killed his estranged wife, their teenage daughter and a male friend Tuesday at a north Phoenix home before killing himself, police said.

Police found the woman's body burned in the home's backyard. The daughter's body was found inside the home, and the male victim was found shot in the front yard, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said.

Police eventually found the suspect's body in a nearby alley and believe he shot himself.

The names of the suspect and the victims have not been released.

Neighbors called police at about 4 p.m. Tuesday after hearing gunshots, and dispatchers could hear gunfire in the background of the 911 calls, Crump told reporters.

Much of the residential neighborhood was evacuated until police used a robot to determine the suspect was no longer inside the home.

Police said the couple was going through a divorce and the woman went to the house to get some of her belongings with her daughter and the male friend.

The couple who lived at the home was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday regarding a protective order the wife had sought against her husband, police said. It was not immediately clear whether the hearing took place.

Crump said police were last called to the house about a month ago, when someone at the home was threatening suicide.

[Associated Press]

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