Monday, March, 2 2026 - A mother from Florida has "violently" k!lled her two children while her husband was on a business trip, police have said. 

Monika Rubacha, 44, was found de@d with her children, Josh James, 14 and 11-year-old Emma James, at their home. 

Her husband, Richard James, was on a business trip in South America when he contacted local authorities to check on his house after he did not hear from his family for more than a day. 

Officers arrived at the Lakewood Ranch house at around 8.30pm on Thursday, Feb. 26, to discover three de@d bodies with visible "traumatic" injuries, police said. 

Sheriff spokesperson, Randy Warren, told The New York Post: "Right away, you could tell something wasn’t right. 

"There were signs of homicidal violence." 

An investigation into their de@ths is underway, with police confirming that Monika had k!lled each of her children in separate rooms before k!lling herself. 

US Weekly reported that officers found the mother had shot both her children before taking her own life. 

Meanwhile, the Herald-Tribune reported that police believe Josh may have di£d earlier than his sister and mother. 

Police have said no one else was involved in the incident. 

Sheriff spokesperson Warren added: "I can tell you that this is a violent scene," WFLA reported.  

"It’s horrible to even imagine what would have been going through the mind of this mother that led up to this." 

He said the family of four moved to the area around three years ago, adding that there were no previous incidents linked to the address.