A Houston-area attorney involved in a bitter custody dispute was found fatally shot along with her two young daughters and mother in an apparent murder-suicide after she was ordered to bring the children to a court hearing, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators found 38-year-old Elizabeth Fontaine's body next to those of her mother, 67-year-old Bonnie Hoult, and two children Monday at an upscale Orange County home. Forensic tests will be needed to determine who pulled the trigger because a handgun was found between the two women, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.
He said investigators spoke to the father, Jason Fontaine, and do not consider him a suspect. The father, who divorced the children's mother, was not at the home, authorities said. A message from The Associated Press was left with his attorney.
Elizabeth Fontaine moved to the Houston suburb of Bellaire a month ago with her daughters, 4-year-old Catherine and 2-year-old Julia, but they returned to California after their father requested a custody hearing, according to court documents and authorities. Neighbors said the family and the mother were staying at a friend's home when the killings occurred.
Fontaine appeared in court Monday morning and was ordered to return with the children later that afternoon, documents show. Authorities responded to the red-roofed, yellow stucco house when they did not show and found a bloody scene: Four bodies, each with one gunshot wound, in a first-floor hallway.
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