A mother and her two children are dead after an apparent murder-suicide near Clearwater early today, deputies said.
According the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to 2015 Sidney Street in unincorporated Clearwater shortly after 2 a.m.
Deputies confirmed that Murphy Brown, 36, discovered his wife Dawn Brown, 34, and their two boys, ages 5 and 9, dead, when he arrived home at 2 a.m.
Detectives said that although they're still investigating, they believe Brown took the lives of her boys, Zander and Zayden, and then hanged herself. They said she used an electrical cord to hang herself from a bedroom ceiling fan.
The children's causes of death will be released after an autopsy.
An investigation is onging.
Neighbors react to the shocking news
William Lavold said he knew the family very well, adding that he got a text message from Murphy Brown about 3 a.m. with the news.
"All I can say is they didn't seem to be that type of couple," Lavold said. "They went with me to the beach last weekend. And I really wouldn't have seen this come through."
Neighbor Nicole Bell lives a few houses down from the Browns.
She said her son is best friends with Zander Brown. She said her son and Zander had an argument yesterday and her son wanted to say sorry.
"This morning was kind of hard when I tried to tell him," Bell said, still having a hard time herself trying to understand. "I mean yourself, that's your own choice. But two innocent little boys. I kind of just don't get it."