Four family members found dead in Winchester home

(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - UPDATE: - Thomas Mortimer IV has been captured
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A man whose wife, two children and mother-in-law were found slain in the family's Winchester home is now being described as a suspect in the killings.

Watch what people had to say about the murders at our Beacon Hill Studio

 Four family members, including two young children, were found dead inside their Winchester home on Wednesday at 2 Windsong Lane. Authorities now say they have issued an arrest warrant for 43-year-old Thomas Mortimer IV charging him with four counts of murder.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone identified the dead as 64-year-old Ellen Stone, her 41-year-old daughter Laura Stone Mortimer, and Laura's two children, 4-year-old Thomas Mortimer V and 2-year-old Charlotte Mortimer.

Leone said Laura Mortimer's husband, Mortimer IV, is unaccounted for and is being sought. Police say Mortimer may be driving a silver or light gray Toyota Highlander with Massachusetts license plate 81VJ58.

The DA said the victims, who lived in the home, were found dead at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday after other family members said they had not been able to reach them since Monday night. He called the scene "horrific" and "unspeakable," and said the acts that caused the deaths "do not appear random."

Neighbors on the quiet street in Winchester, about eight miles north of Boston, expressed shock as they watched investigators come and go at the two-story yellow house roped off with crime scene tape. A visibly distressed woman who said she was friends with Ellen Stone drove up to the house and began to tremble when she heard that the children were not spared. She quickly drove away, in tears, before identifying herself.

"We are in shock because it wasn't a type of family you'd ever think that that would happen to, said Shelley Smyth, who grew up in the neighborhood and whose parents still live there.

Investigators declined to discuss the case in detail, including a possible motive.

Some neighbors said Laura Mortimer and her husband were going through marital problems, but Smyth said there were no outward signs of discord between the couple.

"There was no sign of that, they looked like a happy family," Smyth said. "That's why we are in shock, they looked so happy."

Smyth described her as "very lovely, always walking her dog, always very friendly."

Laura Mortimer was a senior economist with the commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis.

"We are deeply saddened by tragic loss of Laura Stone Mortimer and her family, said a spokesperson for CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. "Laura was a valued and well respected colleague and, more important, a good friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura's family and loved ones at this terrible time."

Police were searching for Thomas Mortimer IV, who previously lived in Avon, Conn., Denver and Englewood, Colo., as well as Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

His parents in Avon hung up the phone when called for comment Wednesday.

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