Mom Finds Young Son, Daughter Dead In Bed With Dad: Little Rock Police

LITTLE ROCK, AR — A woman found two of her young children dead in a bed with the children's estranged father in Little Rock, police said, in what investigators believe was a double murder-suicide.

Police said investigators believe Robert Mangan killed his 4-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son before killing himself. The bodies were found Sunday. A cause of death wasn't immediately released, but police said they were no obvious signs of trauma on the children.

Officer Steve Moore said the woman told police she and Mangan recently split. (For more information on this and other Little Rock stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Little Rock has seen a dramatic rise in homicides this year. Following the Sunday deaths, Arkansas' capital city has now seen 45 homicides this year — three more than all of last year.

Little Rock police increased patrols in some parts of the city last week in hopes of curbing the violence. Police spokesman Steve McClanahan told The Associated Press Monday that even with police working additional hours, situations like the apparent murder-suicide won't be prevented.

"You could have a thousand extra police, and you'll still have this," McClanahan said.

Little Rock is on pace to approach an annual total of homicides not seen since the city's gang wars of the early 1990s. Justice Department figures show 68 deaths in 1993 attributed to murder or manslaughter. Little Rock police spokesman Steve McClanahan has said other killings, such as justifiable homicide, pushed the total to 78 that year.

By TAFI MUKUNYADZI, Associated Press

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