HAZEL GREEN, Ala. (WHNT) — An autopsy report revealed new details behind the death of an Alabama mother, whose body was discovered one day before her husband and kids died in an apparent murder-suicide in Middle Tennessee.
Jennifer Lepore, 43, of Hazel Green, Alabama, was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, according to the report given to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Madison County deputies went to the family’s Hazel Green home on Chelle Mill Lane around 11:15 p.m. on Jan. 18 for a welfare check, which led to the discovery of Jennifer’s body. However, her husband and children were not there.
Investigators learned that Jennifer’s husband, 46-year-old Jamie Lepore, and their two sons, 11-year-old Sean and 9-year-old Jesse, hadn’t been seen recently.
Authorities were able to determine a “possible location” for Jamie in Murfreesboro, Tennessee — which was a family friend’s home — and contacted police there for help finding him and the two children.
According to the Murfreesboro Police Department, officers went to a home in the 2400 block of Cason Lane on Jan. 19. While those officers were talking with a tenant outside, they heard several gunshots come from inside the home.
When police got inside, they found all three family members dead after Jamie allegedly shot his children and then himself.
Jennifer was a special education aide at Hazel Green Elementary School, according to the Madison County School System (MCCS). Jesse and Sean also attended schools in the Hazel Green area.
“The Madison County School System is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of an employee and her two children. MCSS is a tight-knit family, and this event hits us hard. We offer our prayers and condolences to the surviving family members, students, and staff members who this family has touched,” MCSS Superintendent Ken Kubik said in a statement following the family members’ deaths.
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Investigators from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to work with Murfreesboro Police to piece together all of the details, as well as a timeline of events to find out what led to the incident.