On the morning of June 13, 2011, 12-year-old Monica Raye Lake, her 13-year-old brother Coty, and their 38-year-old mother Amy Lake were found dead in their Shore Road home in Dexter, Maine. Law enforcement concluded that 37-year-old Steven Lake, Amy’s estranged husband and the children’s father, shot his wife and children with a shotgun and then killed himself; he was also reported to have a handgun and a knife and to have spread a flammable liquid in the house that was not ignited.

The family had been separated for about a year and Amy had obtained a protection from abuse order after an earlier incident in June 2010; court records show Steven was prohibited from contacting her as part of his bail conditions. Neighbors alerted authorities when Amy and the children did not arrive at Ridge View Community School and a friend saw Steven’s vehicle at the home; a police well-being check led to a hours-long standoff before state tactical teams entered and found the four bodies.

What details about the couple’s separation or the history of threats might still help explain how this escalation occurred, and can anyone who knew the family add context or information?