Authorities in Arkansas still do not know how a father killed his two children and then himself before all three bodies were discovered by his estranged wife on Sunday, PEOPLE confirms.
Robert Mangan, 39, and his two kids — ages 4 and 5 — were found in a bed together Sunday morning in a home in west Little Rock, Arkansas, a police statement explains.
The bodies were found by the children’s mother, who had asked her husband to watch them the previous night while she was away, according to the statement from the Little Rock Police Department.
Authorities have said the children were not shot and that there was no obvious trauma to their bodies. Their causes of death are still pending. It has not been determined how Mangan took his own life.
His wife, whom PEOPLE could not reach for comment on Tuesday, told investigators the couple had recently separated, according to the police statement.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
The double murder-suicide caps a history of domestic disputes between the couple in which Mangan became repeatedly violent, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which reports that Mangan had been barred by court order from contacting his wife.
According to the Gazette, that no-contact order followed an Aug. 4 incident that ended with Mangan’s arrest on battery charges. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment.
He was detained after his wife told police they were arguing in their car when he became upset and repeatedly slammed her head into the dashboard, the Gazette repots.
Last week, police were called Mangan’s wife’s home after she called 911, claiming he was trying to get inside. According to the paper, he allegedly attacked her, injuring her neck and forehead. No formal charges were filed.
Mangan had also been charged with domestic battery in June 2016 after he struck and scratched his wife on the chest and arms. He pleaded guilty and the charges were dismissed.
- Comment
