Father kills his family and himself over gambling debt

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) - A man who came home from Las Vegas distraught over gambling debts killed his pregnant wife and three children, then shot himself to death, police said Tuesday.

A maid found the bodies in their beds in the family's neat brick home in this Detroit suburb shortly after noon.

A suicide note left open and pinned down with salt and pepper shakers was found on the kitchen counter.

In it, the 42-year-old father, whose name was not released, expressed remorse about gambling debts and ''clearly indicated he was sorry he had to take the lives of his wife and children,'' Police Chief William Dwyer said.

Dwyer said the man, who owns an Oak Park printing business, put his gambling debts at close to $100,000, ''but I'm sure it's much higher.''

''Over the past two years, he's been making weekly trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, gambling large sums of money,'' Dwyer said. ''According to a statement by one of the relatives, he was gambling all over the place.''

The man had returned home at 4 a.m. Tuesday from a three-day trip to Las Vegas.

Brenda Williams, a next-door neighbor, said the man had told Williams' husband in recent that his business had been struggling. Dwyer said the company amassed $500,000 in debts.

The family was last seen Monday night by the maid when she left the house.

The father and his 31-year-old wife apparently were shot to death with a gun found in the man's hand, Dwyer said. The children, a 7-year-old girl, 6-year-old boy, and a girl who would have turned 3 on Wednesday, appeared to have been suffocated.