The Pinellas County mother whom authorities say killed her two young boys before taking her own life Friday night had financial problems and was facing a welfare fraud charge, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Dawn Brown, 34, was due to go before a judge on the fraud charge next week. She and her husband, Murphy Brown, also had a looming foreclosure on their home on Sidney Street in unincorporated Clearwater, and their electricity had been shut off for weeks.

The family had begun cooking meals on a charcoal grill and was running an extension cord to a neighbor's outlet to heat up frozen meals in a microwave.

A neighbor, Rob Petryszak, told the Times that Dawn Brown "fell into a depression" years ago after dropping out of college.

Murphy Brown reportedly spent Friday night playing cards at a sports bar. He returned around 2 a.m. Saturday and found the bodies of his wife and 9-year-old Zander and 5-year-old Zayden.

Authorities said Dawn Brown hanged herself with an electrical cord from a ceiling fan. They wouldn't say how the boys died, but family friend William Lavold said investigators told him they were drowned in a bathtub.

According to the Times, Dawn Brown was arrested in June of last year on the welfare fraud charge. She was given the opportunity to undergo pretrial intervention but didn't pay court-ordered costs and the intervention was revoked.

Late last year, the couple's poorly maintained home fell into foreclosure.

The Browns had been married for eight years. A neighbor told the Times Murphy Brown had considered a divorce but held out because he was afraid Dawn would get custody of the kids.

Still, close friends were having a hard time believing Dawn would resort to such a horrific act.

"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 (it) come (to this), though."

Neighbors said Murphy Brown has left the home and doesn't want to return.

Funeral donation information

Lavold has set up a donation website to try and help raise enough money for the dad to pay for a funeral.

"I said the cheapest way we can maybe go about this is maybe cremate your children, cremate your family. The most expensive part is that and the urn,” said Lavold. "I would really hope that somebody out there can help him. A church, a funeral home, something, (to) help him."