3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. 

Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cook County medical examiner later identified him as 67-year-old AC Byrd. A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service said Byrd worked at its center in Warrendale. 

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man's home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. 

Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. The Butler County coroner later identified them as 63-year-old Amy Byrd and 19-year-old Lanaya Lewis. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter. 

Pennsylvania State Police said they've assumed control of the case and are "actively investigating" what happened surrounding the three deaths.

"At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident," police wrote in the public information release report. "This remains an active and ongoing investigation."

State police didn't release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it's available.  

Community in shock after killings 

"My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family," neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday. 

One friend KDKA talked to on Thursday said she was "shattered" and that she would have never seen this coming. 

"On my way here, I kept calling her phone, she wasn't picking up," the friend said.

Now all she and others can do is remember the victims. 

"She was a working mom, nursing. She was funny, she was caring," the friend said. 

And the daughter had a promising future. 

"She had her whole life," the friend said. "She wanted to be a psych nurse, wanted to follow her mother's footsteps."