Mother, 2 Young Children Found Dead Inside Salem County Apartment After Man's Body Found In Woods
PENNS GROVE, N.J. (CBS) -- Four people, including two small children, were found dead in Salem County on Wednesday morning. The first body was found in the woods while the three other victims were discovered inside an apartment.
Penns Grove police confirm that 30-year-old Ruth Reyes was found dead in her apartment, along with her two children -- 4-year-old Eurianny and 2-year-old Eurl.
Police are working to determine what went wrong.
"Everything's under investigation at this point and unfortunately I cannot give any other information," Penns Grove Police Chief Patrick Riley said.
The Salem County Prosecutor's Office says a passerby found what appeared to be a dead body in the woods off of Sportsman Road in Carneys Point.
When Carneys Point police officers arrived at the scene, they found a man who appeared to have died as a result of an apparent suicide.
Officers checked the man's address and then contacted the Penns Grove Police Department to make a wellness check at his residence on Helms Cove Lane in Penns Grove.
When Penns Grove officers arrived at the apartment, they found Reyes' body, along with her two children.
"You see prosecutors kicking the door because they must have been knocking and nobody answered," said a neighbor who did not want to be identified. "They always walked in and out that house with a smile and I'll never forget that."
Police say Reyes had a restraining order issued against the man who was found dead in the woods. People who live in the apartment complex said she was from the Dominican Republic.
CBS3's Kimberly Davis contributed to this report.