Christmas Day Tragedy: Mother and Children Die in Apparent Murder-Suicide

Boston authorities have identified a mother and her two children who were killed as part of a murder-suicide on Christmas Day. The bodies were discovered by the Renaissance Park Garage around 1:30 PM on Wednesday. 

District Attorney Rachel Rollins announced on Thursday that the bodies were those of 40-year-old Erin Pascal and her children; 16-month old Andrew and 4-year old Allison, according to WCVR. 

“Yesterday, the unspeakable happened, and now we are all struggling to make sense of the circumstances surrounding these deaths,” Rollins said. 

Sources told WBZ-TV that Pascal had left her home in West Roxbury with her children following an argument with the children’s father, who Pascal was living with. 

The father quickly called 911 after the argument and reported that Pascal appeared suicidal when she took the kids. Police are still on the hunt for Pascal’s vehicle, a black SUV, which was near the scene. 

The Renaissance Parking Garage, owned by The Northeastern University, was the site for two other suicides this year, according to Rollins. 

Of the two deaths, the one from May gained national attention when Alexander Urtula, a student at Boston College, took their own life. Five people in all have died at the Renaissance Garage in the past seven months. 

News footage from Wednesday showed police looking at an SUV on top of the garage with the doors open. Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said that the vehicle contained two child car seats, presumably belonging to Pascal’s children. 

As tragic as a holiday suicide is – or indeed any kind of suicide – the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention downplay the idea that suicides are more likely to occur over the holidays. They say that suicides peak during the spring and fall. 

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death for Americans, with over 36,000 people taking their own lives each year. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) offers free and confidential support for anyone in distress, along with prevention and crisis resources for anyone who needs them – including medical professionals and people who know someone who may be suicidal. The phone lines are open 24/7/365, so please don’t hesitate to give them a call if you, or someone you know, is considering taking their own life.