A 67-year-old grandmother in upstate New York is believed to have poisoned and stabbed her two grandchildren and her adult daughter before taking her own life, leaving four people dead inside a home in what police are calling a murder-suicide.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office identified the dead as Anita R. Saunders, 67; her daughter Danielle M. Saunders, 46; and Danielle's two children, 11-year-old Aiden Saunders and 8-year-old Olivia Saunders. Deputies found all four bodies inside a home on Kasson Road in the town of Onondaga on the evening of Tuesday, June 24, the New York Post reported.

Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley told reporters that Anita Saunders is the primary suspect and that investigators believe she acted alone. The sheriff described the scene as one of the most disturbing his office has encountered.

What investigators found inside the home

Deputies responded to the Kasson Road residence around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a welfare check request. A family member had called to report concern after being unable to reach anyone in the household for an extended period.

When deputies entered the home, they found all four family members dead. Sheriff Shelley said the preliminary investigation indicates Anita Saunders first poisoned the three victims, then stabbed them. She then died by suicide, the sheriff said. Shelley did not publicly identify the substance used in the suspected poisoning.

The sheriff told reporters the deaths did not appear to have occurred on the day of discovery, though he did not provide a specific estimated time of death. Autopsies were scheduled at the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office to confirm the causes and manner of death for all four individuals.

A family living under one roof

Danielle Saunders and her two children lived in the home with Anita Saunders, the sheriff confirmed. Neighbors described the family as quiet and said they had not noticed any disturbances or unusual activity at the residence in recent days.

Sheriff Shelley addressed the question of motive at a Wednesday press conference but offered little clarity. He stated that investigators had not yet established a motive and that the investigation was still in its early stages.

"This is an absolutely horrific tragedy. We are working to understand what led to this, but right now our focus is on processing the scene and getting answers for this family."

The sheriff added that there were no prior calls for service or domestic disturbance reports at the address. He said investigators were reviewing electronic devices, financial records, and medical histories as part of the ongoing probe.

Cases in which a family member is suspected of killing those closest to them continue to surface with alarming regularity across the country. In one recent case, a Massachusetts mother was charged with murdering her two children after allegedly confessing at a relative's home in Vermont.

Investigators still seeking answers on method and motive

Authorities have not publicly confirmed what type of poison was allegedly used, whether it was a household substance or something acquired specifically for the purpose. Toxicology results from the medical examiner's office are expected to take several weeks.

Investigators will also need to determine the sequence and timing of events inside the home. Sheriff Shelley said the combination of poisoning and stabbing made the case particularly complex from a forensic standpoint.

The sheriff confirmed that a knife consistent with the stab wounds was recovered at the scene. He did not say whether the weapon belonged to the household or describe the nature of the wounds in detail.

The dual method of killing raises questions investigators must still work through. Poisoning cases involving family members have drawn national attention before. A Utah children's book author was sentenced to life without parole for fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl, a case that exposed how lethal substances can be weaponized within a household.

Community in shock

The town of Onondaga sits just south of Syracuse in central New York. Kasson Road runs through a rural stretch of the town, and residents told local media they were stunned by the discovery.

One neighbor, who asked not to be identified by name, told reporters that the family kept to themselves but seemed "perfectly normal." The neighbor said the children were occasionally seen playing outside the home.

"You just never think something like that could happen on your street. Those were little kids."

The Westhill Central School District confirmed that both Aiden and Olivia Saunders were enrolled students. The district released a statement saying it had activated crisis counselors at the children's schools and offered grief support to students and staff.

Tragedies involving children killed by family members in their own homes have shaken communities across the nation. In Virginia, a mother faced murder charges after her twin toddlers were found drowned in a bathtub, a case that raised similar questions about what warning signs, if any, existed before the killings.

No history of red flags, sheriff says

Sheriff Shelley emphasized that the sheriff's office had no prior record of domestic incidents, mental health calls, or protective orders involving anyone in the household. He acknowledged that this absence of warning signs made the case more difficult to understand.

The sheriff said investigators had begun interviewing extended family members and associates of Anita Saunders to build a fuller picture of her state of mind in the weeks and days before the deaths. He declined to share what those interviews had revealed so far, citing the active investigation.

Shelley also confirmed that no suicide note had been found as of Wednesday afternoon. Investigators were still processing the scene and had not completed their review of electronic communications.

The absence of any documented history of violence or instability mirrors patterns seen in other family killing cases. A Texas woman was arrested for her husband's murder 24 years after his death had initially been ruled natural, a case that illustrated how lethal acts within families can go undetected for years or even decades.

What comes next

The Onondaga County Medical Examiner will complete autopsies on all four individuals. Toxicology results and final determinations on cause and manner of death will follow. Sheriff Shelley said his office would release additional findings as they become available, though he cautioned that the investigation could take weeks to complete.

The sheriff's office has asked anyone with information about the family or the circumstances to contact investigators. No other suspects are being sought.

Shelley closed his press conference by asking the public to respect the privacy of the extended Saunders family during the investigation.

Four people are dead in a quiet upstate town, and the person authorities believe responsible will never face a courtroom. When the system has no prior calls, no red flags, and no note left behind, the only accountability left is the truth that investigators can still piece together.