Fairfield police believes is a double murder/suicide attempt. A 28-year-old mother is suspected of fatally stabbing her 3-year-old twin daughters on Tuesday night, then herself and setting their apartment on fire.
Adrian Babas is one of the neighbors at the Summit at Paradise Valley apartment complex. He smelled smoke and tried to kick down the doors.
"We ran upstairs and tried to kick open the door, but it wouldn't budge by the time we got it open the heat was so intense," he said.
Firefighters found the young girls' bodies and their mother inside. Investigators say the children did not die from the fire, but rather from stab wounds.
"The doors were locked, the windows were locked. There is no way this could have been done from the outside," Police Investigations Commander Lt. Darrin Moody said.
The mother,Monica Christine McCarrick, was taken to John Muir hospital where she has undergone surgery. She is expected to survive.
Neighbors told ABC7 the family just recently moved in. Police say McCarrick relocated from out of state for a job. They would not provide much information about the father of the little girls, but say he was not at the residence. They say the mother is the only suspect.
Neighbors believe in retrospect there could have been signs of trouble. Gladys Ortega lives below the family and she says on Monday, the mother parked her white Nissan sideways in the carport, blocking three spaces for hours.
Ortega says the mom sat alone, the girls were not in the car and another neighbor said that on Tuesday morning the girls were seen in the parking lot crying. Now flowers and candles are being placed outside the building to honor their memories.
Fairfield police are working with the District Attorneys office to discover if and when charges might be filed against the McCarrick. She was rescued by firefighters and is expected to survive.
