Fla. Teacher Killed in Murder-Suicide by Fiancé Was Stabbed to Death Before He Shot Himself: 'Amazing Mother'

A Florida woman killed in a murder-suicide last weekend was stabbed to death by her fiancé, who then fatally shot himself.

The woman, 26-year-old Amanda Hicks, was a new mother and a grade school teacher at Anderson Middle School in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The New York Post reported her daughter, Alani, is 10 months old.

Port St. Lucie police said in a statement earlier this week that a baby was heard crying in her crib when officers arrived on scene. Police said they arrived at a home for a welfare check on behalf of a family member of a man who lived there.

When authorities arrived, they found Hicks and the man dead inside. Investigators said the two victims were “romantically involved,” while WPTV reported Hicks and the man were engaged.

“The infant is now with a family member,” police said Saturday.

This week, Hicks’ family launched a fundraiser to help pay for funeral expenses and for her daughter.

“She was an amazing mother to a beautiful baby girl, she was a great sister, and was a beloved teacher and friend,” her brother Eric, who started the fundraiser, wrote. “She will be deeply missed and didn’t deserve to leave this world so soon by someone else’s hand.”

Police have not identified either victim, but WPTV reports the Martin County School District said Hicks was a reading teacher at the middle school and that the principal sent a memo to parents this week.

"It is heart-wrenching," the school’s media specialist Kelly Middleton told the outlet. "It is shocking to lose one of our family members."

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Middleton said Hicks was “a gifted artist” who was “kind” and “very understanding.” "We had a beautiful baby shower for her last year before she left," Middleton told WPTV. "I was just looking at pictures of that."

Hicks’ friend Raquel Magallon told the Post the new mother was “just a great person.” Magallon also told the Post that Hicks never divulged she was pregnant over the last year and she abruptly deleted her social media accounts in March.

“None of it makes sense,” Magallon said. “It’s just really sad.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.