An investigation into the shocking murder-suicide that rocked the San Antonio residents two months back has revealed that Army Staff Sgt. Jared Esquibel Harless was assisted by his wife in killing their four children and family pets before the two killed themselves.
The San Antonio police have now new information that sheds light on this shocking case that for the last two months has kept the local community on the edge. There are speculations now that the couple may have been distressed about raising kids with special needs and that could have been a possible cause of the murder-suicide.
The investigators initially believed that Army Staff Sgt. Jared Esquibel Harless was solely responsible for the murders, the investigators but have not revealed why they believe that Sheryll Ann Harless.
The cause of death has been ruled as carbon monoxide poisoning. The name and ages of the six family members are listed below:
Jared Esquibel Harless, 38
Sheryll Ann Harless, 36
Esteban Lorenzo Harless, 4
Penelope Arcadia Harless, 3
Avielle Magdalena Harless, 1
Apollo Harless, 11-months
The entire family was found dead in the back of an SUV in the garage of their Northwest Side home 106 Red Willow located inside a gated community on June 4. The two cats belonging to the family were also found dead inside a box.
San Antonio Police Lt. Jesse Salame told San Antonio Express-News that the couple planned the killings together. Salame said that he believed that mental health issues along with life stress and the stress of having to take care of children with special needs could have made the couple take such a drastic step.
In a rare rebuke, Jared Harless was buried without receiving military honors "due to the circumstances surrounding his death."
Harless has been with the army for the last ten years and had been to Iraq in 2011. When Harless, a cryptologic cyberspace intelligence analyst at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, did not turn up at work his bosses sent the local police for a visit.
Horror Inside
The police found a rather cryptic note in military jargon that read "The animals are in the freezer" which means bodies inside do not enter.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they found the seats that were removed from the SUV outside the two-storey house. At least, seven officers who entered the house then had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. Officers then broke the windows of the house and a robot had to be sent in for verifying if it was safe to enter.
The murder-suicide the officers later told news channels was one of the most horrific incidents that have happened in San Antonio in a long time.
106 Red Willow
