Mom, 2 children found dead in murder-suicide in Lake in the Hills

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - A woman and her two children were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide Tuesday afternoon in northwest suburban Lake in the Hills.

Just before 3 p.m., emergency crews were called for a report of an unresponsive person inside the townhome in the 2300 block of Daybreak Drive, according to Lake in the Hills police.

The home was “secured,” so firefighters broke inside, where they found three people dead, police said.

They have been identified as Carla Lopez-Mejia, 27; her son, 11-year-old Ezequiel Garcia; and her daughter, 8-year-old Ariana Garcia, according to the McHenry County coroner’s office. Autopsies showed the two children died of strangulation and their mother hanged herself.

Preliminary findings suggest the deaths were a murder-suicide, according to the coroner’s office. A final ruling on their manner of death was pending further investigation by authorities and the results of toxicology testing.

“This appears to be an isolated incident and at this point in the investigation, there is no known threat to public safety,” police said.