Authorities say a Texas woman made a grim discovery on Sunday when she returned home to find the lifeless bodies of her son and husband.
The deaths are now under investigation by the Houston Police Department, who are revealing little information at this time. The names of the two victims, aged 19 and 57, are not being released pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Officers did tell reporters on the scene Sunday evening that the incident appeared to be a murder-suicide. On Monday, Houston Police provided a few more specifics about how the son and father died, stating in a news release:
Officers responded to an apartment at the above address after family members had found the two victims deceased inside. The 19-year-old male had suffered apparent asphyxiation from his father. The male had suffered apparent self-inflicted lacerations with an edged weapon.
In that release, officers also encouraged any individuals with information about the case to contact the homicide division.
The two were later identified as Alireza Tabarzan and his son Amir by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The medical examiner is still busy preparing the reports of the husband (above courtesy of Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences)
Law&Crime obtained the initial findings from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The reports contain little information other than the fact that the deceased men are both Asian and that their time of death was 12:29 p.m. Sunday.
The cause of death is pending in both cases, and the place of death is listed as “Apartment Houston, TX.” The “next of kin” is identified as “spouse” for one of the two and “mother” for the other.
Neighbors told a reporter from CBS Houston affiliate KHOU that the mother and wife of the victims arrived at their apartment around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Moments later, she ran outside in a video captured by an individual living in the same complex. In that video, she can be seen crying while urging police to come to the scene.
A distraught woman calls for help after discovering alleged murder-suicide in Houston, image via Click2Houston screengrab
At one point, she collapses onto the ground and starts shrieking with grief.
The wife and mother of the deceased is listed as next of kin on both reports (image courtesy of Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences).
Individuals in the area report that the son had a disability that required him to use a wheelchair. He had also recently graduated from high school, neighbors said on Sunday.
As for the father? “Nice and quiet,” said neighbors.
The family had been in the country for seven years after arriving from Iran.
A full police investigation is pending the results of the autopsies of the two men HPD Homicide Division Sergeant A. Lopez and Detective N. Sharp reported on Monday.
[Image via Click2Houston screengrab]