Five dead in possible murder-suicide

Five dead in possible murder-suicide - CNN.com

• <LI class=cnnhiliteheader>Story Highlights
• NEW: Victim's ex-husband identified as a possible suspect in women's deaths
• Police find bodies of two women in apartment, two children in house, man in van
• Police: Children found in home of victim's ex-husband
• Man in van might have shot himself in the head while he was driving, police say

(CNN) -- Five people, including two children, were found dead in three locations Friday in what Largo, Florida, police are investigating as a possible murder-suicide.

Officers found two women slain in an apartment about 6:45 a.m. ET after responding to a report of gunshots, said Largo police Lt. Mike Loux.
Police later identified the women as Andrea Pisanello, 53, and Jennifer Davis, 27, and said both lived in the apartment. A child at the residence was unhurt, said Capt. Larry Leinhauser of the Manatee County Department of Public Safety.

Davis' ex-husband, Oliver Thomas Bernsdorff, 36, was identified as a "possible suspect" in the deaths, but authorities would not reveal how his name surfaced.

When Clearwater police went to Bernsdorff's address, they found the bodies of two children inside, Loux said.

The children's cause of death had not been determined, and their identities were not being released, said Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts.

While officers from Largo and Clearwater were at the residence, they were notified of a third incident at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a Largo police statement said.

"Information was received that the Florida Highway Patrol had attempted to stop a mini-van on a traffic stop. The mini-van had reported to be driving erratically. The van pulled off the roadway and continued to drive into the mangroves and then into the water."

The man inside was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Loux said. The vehicle was registered to Bernsdorff, but the man's identity had not been confirmed.

The van was going down the road when it veered to the right, and the man "might have shot himself in the head while he was driving," Leinhauser told CNN. Alcohol was found in the vehicle, he said.
Loux would not divulge any connection between Bernsdorff, the children or the women, citing the ongoing investigation.

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