A California man was arrested for killing his three children after a domestic dispute with his wife, police said Thursday.
A California man was arrested for killing his three children after a domestic dispute with his wife, police said Thursday.
Robert Hodges, 32, was arrested around midnight Thursday, West Sacramento police Sgt. Roger Kinney said.
His three children — all under the age of 12 — were killed at the family’s West Sacramento home Wednesday evening, after a violent altercation between Hodges and his wife.
Police and first responders attempted to save the childrens’ lives but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
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“After a reasonable amount of time the medical staff pronounced all three children deceased, ” Kinney said.
The mother did not see Hodges kill their children, though she was “in close proximity” at the time.
Relatives were unaware of any previous marital disputes.
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The couple had been married for more than 12 years and were parents to an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 9-month-old boy.
Their great-grandmother, Irene Aiello, said that “everything appeared to be OK” between the couple.
“We don’ t understand what happened, we really don’ t, ” she said.
Neighbors called 911 to report a domestic violence incident at the family’s residence.
Another call came in reporting that the children might have died while police were on their way to the apartment, Kinney said.
“Obviously, she’s traumatized, and it’s going to take some time to find out what’s going on, ” Kinney said of the mother.
“The officers are absolutely impacted, along with the firefighters, and certainly the family, the neighbors, ” he said. “It’s horrific and it’s very difficult to deal with.”
Hodges is being held at the Yolo county jail and will appear in court Monday.
“It’s very serious. I don’t know how they are going to charge him but there is a lot of work that has to go into that, ” Kinney said.
