Sonoma Co. Coroner Identifies Father, 2 Children Dead In Suspected Murder-Suicide

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- The Sonoma County Coroner's Office identified a 40-year-old Santa Rosa man Tuesday who was found dead along with his two young children Monday in a suspected double murder-suicide.

The body of Alvaro Botelho Da Camara, whom authorities say was involved in a child custody dispute with his estranged wife, was found hanging Monday morning in a bedroom of his apartment in the 700 block of Slater Street. The bodies of his two children, 6-year-old Juliana Camara and 19-month-old Julian Camara, were found close by.

Authorities suspect Da Camara killed his children, then committed suicide by hanging himself.

• Santa Rosa Father, 2 Young Children Found Dead; Murder-Suicide Suspected, Police Say

The children's cause of death is still being determined. Autopsies are scheduled for Wednesday, Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

"Our deepest condolences goes out to their family," the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Tuesday afternoon in which the identities of the deceased were revealed.

Authorities say Da Camara had his children Sunday for Father's Day but when the children's mother, who lives in an unincorporated area southwest of Santa Rosa, went to pick up the children at Da Camara's Slater Street apartment Sunday evening, it appeared he was not home.

She called the sheriff's office and deputies looked in windows, knocked on doors and left a business card at the door, Crum said.

Deputies and the children's mother were in phone contact overnight and deputies returned to Da Camara's apartment around 9 a.m. Monday. The children's mother and two of her brothers also went to the apartment Monday morning, according to Crum.

A deputy climbed a ladder to enter the apartment by removing a screen on an open bathroom window. The bodies were found in a bedroom and deputies called Santa Rosa police around 9:50 a.m., Crum said.

Da Camara and his wife were in Sonoma County Superior Court on Friday regarding a custody issue, but they came to an agreement, Santa Rosa police Lt. Mike Lazzarini said.

On Friday night, the couple argued over the phone. Juliana was with her father and Julian was with his mother at the time, Lazzarini said.

Prior to the tragic discovery Monday, investigators didn't "have any information he was a danger to himself or the children," Lazzarini said.

"There was no domestic violence."

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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