News

Father took family to amusement park before killing them

LEESPORT, Pa. — Authorities have named a Pennsylvania man as the shooter in a murder-suicide that left his family dead earlier this month.

The Berks County district attorney said Monday that 40-year-old Mark Short Sr. shot and killed his 33-year-old wife, Megan, and the couple's three children before turning the weapon on himself.

The children — 8-year-old Lianna, 5-year-old Mark Jr. and 2-year-old Willow — were found dead alongside their parents Aug. 6 in the family's home in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania.

A day before the murder-suicide, Time reports that Mark Short Sr. took his three children to Hershey Park.

Authorities say the couple had been having "domestic issues." They found a handwritten murder-suicide note and a handgun near one of the adults.

Neighbors say Megan Short had posted on social media before her death that she planned to leave her husband. A funeral Mass was held Friday.

-----

Megan Trimble from the Associated Press contributed to this report.