Family creates fund for twin sisters killed by father in Texas murder-suicide
A family member has started a fund for funeral expenses for twin 12-year-old Texas girls who police say were killed by their father last week in Navarro County.
Cousin Stephanie Stephens of Waco established a GoFundMe account for sisters Heaven and Nevaeh Sadler, who were found shot to death at their home on Friday in what authorities believe was a double murder-suicide.
“The twins were unexpectedly taken away from life an an early age,” Stephens posted on the GoFundMe page. “We were not prepared for this tragedy, by any means.”
Family members are seeking to raise $10,000.
Deputies with the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office on Friday also found the body of the twins’ father, Larry Thompson.
Authorities believe the father killed his daughters and then killed himself in Frost, Texas. The town is about 75 miles southeast of Fort Worth.
Deputies were initially dispatched on Friday about a welfare concern in the 18000 block of Northwest 3360, located in the Brushie community. The caller — who is the twins’ stepmother — told authorities that she had a disagreement with her husband and she had left their home with her own children and stayed at another location for the night.
The caller stated that her husband and his twin 12-year old girls remained at the residence.
She returned hours later and when she went into the home to check on her family, she thought she heard a single gunshot. She immediately left and reported the incident, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
When deputies arrived, they learned that the suspect, Larry Thompson, was armed with a handgun and made statements of potential violence toward the family and police if anyone tried to take his children. The deputies confirmed by speaking with Thompson’s mother, who had just been inside the house speaking with the suspect and the children.
Within minutes after Thompson’s mother voluntarily left the residence, deputies reported hearing two gunshots from inside.
The incident was immediately deemed a hostage situation, and SWAT, crisis negotiators and medical personnel were deployed.
After numerous attempts by the Crisis Negotiation Unit to contact anyone inside the residence, SWAT made entry with a tactical robot supported by an entry team. Officials found the bodies of Thompson and the twin girls inside the home, according to deputies.
April Sadler, the mother of the twin girls, was left speechless, according to WFAA-TV
“They were some good kids,” Sadler said.
Sadler said that Heaven and Nevaeh lived with their father, his wife and the wife’s children.
Virdle Sadler-Nance, the twins’ grandmother, told WFAA that Thompson adored the girls.
“They were precious kids. Them girls were beautiful, they were always hugging and kissing on me,” Sadler-Nance said. “They were my heart, my heart.”
Child Protective Services officials said they’d never been called to the family’s house, according to WFAA.
