A Florida mother killed her two children inside their upscale Lakewood Ranch home before taking her own life in what authorities ruled was a double homicide-suicide.

Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare check at the home and discovered three people dead inside. Detectives with the Manatee Homicide Investigation Unit later concluded the children were killed by their mother before she took her own life.

Authorities said there is no evidence anyone else was involved, and there is no threat to the community.

The victims were identified by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as Monika Rubacha, 44, and her children, Josh James, 14, and Emma James, 11.

Officials described encountering what appeared to be a “violent murder scene” when deputies entered the home.

The case remains active as detectives continue reviewing evidence. The medical examiner will determine the official cause and manner of the deaths.

According to the Herald-Tribune, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Randy Warren said preliminary findings suggest Josh James may have died earlier than his sister and mother as investigators work to establish a precise timeline.

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The outlet also reported that authorities believe there was some level of planning involved and that the mother “knew what she was doing,” citing Warren.

“This is unimaginable that two children were killed inside their home by a parent, and then she took her own life,” Warren told FOX 13.

Warren also told the station that deputies had never previously responded to the home since the family moved there from Missouri about three years ago.

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“There’s really nothing there that would have indicated this would have happened,” said Warren. 

The children’s father was traveling in South America at the time of the killings and returned to Florida after being notified, authorities said, calling it “an incredible emotional day for him,” according to FOX 13.

Neighbors described shock rippling through the gated community.

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“It’s a total surprise and shock. This neighborhood is so quiet,” Paul Henne, a resident of The Lake Club, told FOX 13.

“It’s a family community with small kids. It really hits you hard when you hear about that stuff happening.”

The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch, the gated community where the family lived, said in a statement to FOX 13 it is aware of the tragedy and that its “hearts are with the family and all those affected during this incredibly difficult time.”

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A motive has not been released. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for comment. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

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Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper have secured the Republican and Democratic nominations respectively to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Whatley, of Boone, and Cooper, of Nashville, were heavily favored to win their contests in a state that has been tough for Republicans at the gubernatorial level and for Democrats at the presidential level.

Cooper faced businessman Daryl Farrow and technology sector consultant Justin Dues — both prior candidates for U.S. House — along with Pastor Orrick Quick and several perennial candidates.

Whatley faced retired Navy JAG officer Don Brown, who previously ran for Congress against Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C. Another major GOP candidate was former Wake County school board candidate Michele Morrow.

Immigration has been a key issue in the race, as Whatley has hammered Cooper for repeatedly vetoing bills from Raleigh’s state legislative Republican majority that would have compelled local cooperation with ICE.

“If Roy Cooper had not vetoed legislation that would have forced sheriffs to honor the ICE detainers, then these people would not have been on the street,” Whatley said.

ICE, along with Tarheel State-native Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, captured at least 120 illegal immigrants in Charlotte and the Triangle during operations last year.

“It’s unfortunate that the Trump administration has to go into a city like Charlotte and help to clean up the city. It would be great if the state and the local officials were to be as concerned for their citizens as they were for the illegal immigration advocates that they’re pushing,” Whatley added at the time.

Cooper vetoed at least three bills during his eight-year tenure dealing with ICE cooperation that were drafted by the GOP-majority legislature.

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In August 2019, Cooper vetoed a bill from current House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Lenoir, that would have required sheriffs to honor ICE detainers and hold suspects until they could be transferred to the feds.

Cooper reportedly said the bill was trying to use “fear to divide North Carolina,” but the effort eventually succeeded as part of a package expanding private-school vouchers.

Cooper has pushed back, with a spokesman telling Fox News Digital that sheriffs in Wake, Mecklenburg and Durham counties all opposed Republicans’ legislation – and backed his own move to veto them. Eight other sheriffs backed Cooper’s veto.

“Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars, and numerous North Carolina sheriffs spoke out against this legislation at the time because of a lack of resources; a problem that Washington, D.C. insider and Big Oil lobbyist Michael Whatley has made worse because of his support for cuts to local law enforcement,” the spokesman said.

The race sets up a high-stakes fall general election, where Whatley hopes to maintain Republicans’ grip on the seat, and a Cooper win could throw the Senate’s Republican majority into jeopardy.

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The last time a Democrat held a North Carolina U.S. Senate seat was from 2009–2015 with Sen. Kay Hagan, whom Tillis eventually defeated.

Before that, scandal-plagued vice presidential candidate John Edwards split the state’s representation with Republican Elizabeth Dole, the wife of 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole.

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The diplomat accused of fatally stabbing one person and injuring three others in a Sunday highway “road rage incident” once graduated with academic honors and built a career that took him to the U.S. State Department.

Jared Llamado, 32, fatally stabbed Michele Adams, 39, and injured Dana Bonnell, 36, Mary C. Flood, 37, and Heather Miller, 40, according to Virginia State Police. Llamado also stabbed his own dog to death, authorities said. The incident happened on I-495 southbound at 1:17 p.m. in Fairfax County, about 30 minutes from Washington, D.C.

Officials said the stabbings did not appear to be targeted, and none of the victims besides the dog were in Llamado’s car at the time. Llamado, who was armed with a knife, was shot by a state trooper in self-defense and died at a local hospital, authorities said. The trooper wasn’t injured.

“A Virginia State Police trooper was called to the scene at approximately 1:17 p.m. for a reported road rage incident. When the trooper arrived on scene, he was confronted by a male suspect carrying a knife,” Virginia State Police wrote in a news release. “The trooper then shot the suspect in self-defense. The suspect, Jared Llamado, 32, of McLean, Va., was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Llamado later succumbed to those injuries. The trooper was not injured.”

The U.S. Department of State confirmed Llamado was a foreign service officer with the agency.

“We are aware of the tragic incident that involved a Foreign Service Officer and occurred on Sunday, March 1, in Fairfax County, Virginia,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy.”

On Feb. 22, Llamado posted a picture with several friends on social media, appearing to be happy and upbeat.

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“Dinner with my long time friends and coworkers!” Llamado wrote, in what would be his last Facebook post.

Here’s a timeline of Llamado’s work and education history leading up to the stabbing incident, according to his LinkedIn and social media:

2011 – Began studying at George Mason University:

In 2011, Llamado began studying at George Mason University to earn a degree in applied information technology.

2015 – Graduated from George Mason University:

In 2015, Llamado graduated from George Mason University with a degree in applied information technology. Llamado said on LinkedIn that he graduated with a 3.76 grade point average, which landed him on the dean’s list for seven of his eight semesters. He also said he graduated magna cum laude.

July 2015 to June 2018 – Employed as a network engineer at OSIbeyond

June 2018 to June 2020 – Employed as an IT Network Engineer at ECC IT Solutions, LLC

June 2020 to October 2021 – Employed as a senior solutions engineer at R3 LLC

November 2021 to July 2024 – Employed as a senior network engineer at LMS Technical Services

September 2024 to March 2026 – Employed as a diplomatic technology officer at the U.S. Department of State:

While working at the Department of State, Llamado said he was living in Copenhagen, Denmark, but appeared to be back in the United States recently.

March 1: Police say Llamado went on a stabbing spree in a “road rage incident”:

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According to dispatch audio obtained by Fox News Digital, the stabbing incident “started out as a property damage crash,” then the suspect began “stabbing people with a knife.” 

The dispatch operator said that there were “multiple victims in the roadway.”