This tragic story takes place in Franklin County, Missouri, and there are no winners here, just utter sadness. According to CNN, a father wanted by police for domestic violence, allegedly kidnapped his two young boys. He had initially brought them to see his mother and explain to her the problems he was having in his marriage divide and the legal entanglements involved. Chris Cadenbach, 43, also revealed to her that he would not be taken alive. He then left his mother’s property with Ethan, 5 and Owen, 4.

Cadenbach’s worried mother called police, who then issued an Amber Alert for her abducted grandsons and the 2006 Ford Focus they were in. Police later caught up with the trio, after a park ranger noticed the vehicle in a local park. As soon as officers came on to the scene, gunshots fired out. Police believe that Cadenbach was shooting his two little boys and then, turned the gun on himself. Within seconds, there were three fatalities, and yet, murder suicide is not unusual when it comes to family legal dramas.

Research shows that men are more likely to kill family members when they don’t believe they can be the breadwinners any more or when they have let their loved ones down. Women, however, are found to try or commit suicide three times more likely than men in similar family dramas. Sadly, statistics show a child is more likely to be killed by their parents than by a complete stranger.