SOLON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The deaths of three girls and their mother in West Michigan earlier this week has been ruled a murder-suicide.
The Kent County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday afternoon that the medical examiner ruled that the deaths of Alaina Rau, 2; Cassidy Rodery, 6; and Kyrie Rodery, 8 were homicides and the death of their mother Aubrianne Moore, 28, was a suicide.
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Previous: Woman, 3 daughters found shot to death in West Michigan home
WOOD reports Moore used a bolt-action hunting style rifle to shoot her daughters in a wooded area on 19 Mile Road near Division Avenue in Solon Township, northwest of Cedar Springs. She then put her daughters in her car and drove down the street to her boyfriend's property before killing herself outside of the car.
Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young says authorities responded Monday to a property near Cedar Springs, a community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Grand Rapids. She says someone discovered the bodies and called 911.
"They were awesome kids, absolutely great. The oldest excelled in reading like no other. The youngest one, she was just so joyful and so happy all the time. And then the middle child, she was just rambunctious and wild and always put a smile on everybody's face," Alyssa Rau, cousin of the youngest victim told WOOD.
LaJoye-Young called the scene “a horrific thing to be called to” and said “my heart goes out to the families involved here and the community.”