Tragedy strikes North Dakota family as woman wipes out family! Struggling mother-of-three, Astra Volk, shoots her three kids, 14, 10 and six, self in triple-murder suicide
Astra Volk killed her three children, 14, 10 and six and herself in their Grand Forks, North Dakota home in triple-murder suicide, police said
Volk, 35, and her three children – Tyler Talmage, 14, Aidan Talmage, 10, and 6-year-ol Arianna Talmage were found dead from gunshot wounds
Lewis and Clark Elementary School, where two of the children were students, had asked the police to conduct a welfare check on the family
An officer saw a body inside and forced entry into the house Thursday morning, and discovered all four were dead
Police have ruled the deaths ‘an apparent murder-suicide’ and are not searching for suspects
Volk neighbors said has been struggling financially, living alone with the children since she was separated from estranged husband Brian Talmage, their father
A week prior to the tragedy, she had posted a plea for monetary assistance at GoFundMe, seeking help in a post titled “Living expenses due to medical bills,” and her wages “had recentl been garnished”
The Cirrus Aircraft employee wrote that her two sons “suffer from mental illness, bi-polar, manic depression, autism” and that all had been “hospitalized for this.”
Authorities in North Dakota say four people found dead in a Grand Forks home were a mother and her three children and their deaths were apparent homicides and a suicide.
Police found the bodies Thursday morning after one of the children’s schools asked them to do a welfare check.
They say all four had gunshot wounds.
The police news release Thursday night said a handgun was found at the scene and no suspects were being sought.
Astra Volk [left, photo], was found dead along with her three children in their North Dakota home.
A pink child’s bicycle was overturned in the front yard. Lewis and Clark Elementary School has confirmed that the three children were students in the district
Police identified the dead as 35-year-old Astra Volk and her children, Tyler Talmage,14, Aidan Talmage, 10, and 6-year-old Arianna Talmage.
![Tyler Talmage [back], Aidan Talmage [centre], and Arianna Talmage 1.png](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Tyler-Talmage-back-Aidan-Talmage-centre-and-Arianna-Talmage-1.png?resize=620%2C603&ssl=1)
Victims: 14-year-old Tyler Talmage [rear],, 10-year-old Aidan Talmage [centre], and 6-year-old Arianna Talmage [bottom right], were reportedly shot and killed by their mom on their N. Dakota home on Thursday
Neighbor Paula Stevens says the family moved into the neighborhood about two months ago and was renting a house that had been recently renovated. Stevens says she rarely saw the woman because she worked odd hours, and this long winter kept the kids indoors.
![Astra Volk back left], with her kids Tyler Talmage [second back], Aidan Talmage [third back], Arianna Talmage [left, front] and husband Brian Talmage 1.png](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Astra-Volk-back-left-with-her-kids-Tyler-Talmage-second-back-Aidan-Talmage-third-back-Arianna-Talmage-left-front-and-husband-Brian-Talmage-1.png?resize=620%2C599&ssl=1)
Reclusive family: Astra Volk back left], with her kids Tyler Talmage [second back], Aidan Talmage [third back], Arianna Talmage [left, front] and husband Brian Talmage.
The police news release Thursday night said a handgun was found at the scene and no suspects were being sought.
Lewis and Clark Elementary School has confirmed that the three children were students in the district.
![Astra Volk and Arianna Talmage [left], Brian Talmage and Astra Volk [right] 2.png](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Astra-Volk-and-Arianna-Talmage-left-Brian-Talmage-and-Astra-Volk-right-2.png?resize=620%2C428&ssl=1)
Astra Volk seen with daughter Arianna [left], and husband, Brian Talmage,[ right], was found dead along with her three children in their North Dakota home, including her six-year-old daughter
![Tyler Talmage [back], Aidan Talmage [centre], and Arianna Talmage 2.jpg](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Tyler-Talmage-back-Aidan-Talmage-centre-and-Arianna-Talmage-2.jpg?resize=620%2C349&ssl=1)
Siblings Arianna Talmage [left], Aidan Talmage [centre], and Tyler Talmage [back] well all executed by their mother before she turned the gun on herself
The house had been cordoned off by crime tape on Thursday. A pink child’s bicycle was overturned in the front yard. The police news release Thursday night said a handgun was found at the scene and no suspects were being sought.
Lewis and Clark Elementary School has confirmed that the three children were students in the district, according to Valley News Live.
‘Families have been notified, and the district is working with the schools involved to provide support and counseling to students and staff,’ district spokesman Tracy Jentz said in a statement.
‘The Grand Forks Police Department has asked that we share no additional information as this is an ongoing investigation.’
Crime scene: The Talmage family home in North Dakota where the bodies were found being cordoned off by law enforcement
In the post, Volk said she and her two sons “suffer from mental illness, bi-polar, manic depression, autism” and that all had been “hospitalized for this.”
“I work full time but my wages have recently been garnished for medical bills,” she wrote. “I’m looking for help with 1 month’s bills to help get on our feet and look for a second job. I am trying to stay positive so I do not end up back in the hospital.”
Volk, who said on social media that she worked at Cirrus Aircraft, said the family was getting help from food pantries.
Court records show Volk had been in civil court three times in the past year for collections totaling to $3,700. Neighbours believed she was living alone with the children and was separated from her husband, Brian Talmage, the father of her children.
Volk’s neighbours said has been struggling financially, living alone with the children since she was separated from her husband, their father
The neighbours reportedly stood throughout the day on porches and sidewalks, talking among themselves or to the detectives moving door-to-door for information.
Though all the visible windows in the house were shut fast, the garage door hung half-opened, slightly crooked, the mailbox revealing a backlog of uncollected mail.
Most local residents said they didn’t know Volk or her children well. The home, which longtime residents say had recently been overhauled by the Talmage family, had been largely uninhabited since the flood of 1997.
The investigation of that is still ongoing, police said.
The man in the pictures is her current husband, Heath. He is not the biological father of her kids, but he was the closest thing they had to a father. He loved them dearly. She loved her children. I can’t imagine her doing them any harm.