“Don’t have the rumors going:" Family speaks out as North Carolina mom Ethal Steele kills her 3 children in apparent murder-suicide

On Tuesday, April 11, North Carolina mom Ethal Steele reportedly killed her three children before fatally shooting herself in what appears to be a murder-suicide. According to WXLV, the incident took place around noon on Brookhill Drive in Winston-Salem. Officials stated that this was an isolated case and there is no further threat to the community.

Trigger warning: This article concerns a mass killing, the reader's discretion is advised.

In an official statement, Ethal Steele's family requested the public not to speculate about the circumstances leading to the deaths.

Wanda Caton, Ethal Steele's aunt, said:

"What drove this thing? We don't know, but we ask from the bottom of our hearts. Let the police do their jobs. Don't have the rumors going."

The children who died in the incident have been identified as Sakenlo Shawn Steele Jr., 14, Sakenya Syretha Steele, 12, and Sakendra Syann Steele, 9. Officials believe that the mother shot Sakendra first, before turning the gun on Sakenya. She supposedly killed Sakenlo Shawn Steele last.

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Officials and family members speak out about the death of Ethal Steele and her children

At a press conference, local authorities said that they entered Ethal Steele's home shortly after neighbors reported a shooting in the area. When officials arrived, the house was quiet, and all the doors were closed. Subsequently, they forced entry into the home only to discover the four bodies deceased at the scene. All of the victims had died of gunshot wounds. They later noted that during the course of the murder-suicide, Ethal Steele was on a Facetime call with an unknown person who witnessed the brutal scene.

In a statement to reporters, Wanda Caton said that even if the incident is confirmed to be a murder-suicide, the tragic crime is not representative of who the deceased truly is. She said that the victim had been a nurse who juggled her career with homeschooling her children.

Caton said:

“Ethal was a beautiful, well-educated, loving mother, loving sister, loving daughter, who took care to the utmost of her children."

In an interview with Fox8, Ethal's godbrother said that everything appeared to be normal. The family had just returned from a vacation to Florida. Neighbors said that when they saw police swarming around the house, they never guessed that the local mother would have hurt her own children.

Neighbor Angela Steele said:

“This happened in my neighbourhood. You don’t want to see this. You see this on the news, and…it is another neighbourhood. For it to happen here in our neighbourhood, is very concerning. It’s close to home.”

The murder-suicide currently remains under investigation by Winston-Salem authorities. They do not believe that there were any other suspects involved in the crime.