Sheriff’s investigators say the children were killed in separate rooms before a suicide.
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — A welfare check requested by a father who could not reach his family led deputies to a Lakewood Ranch home where a mother and her two children were found dead, and investigators say the deaths were a double homicide followed by a suicide.
Manatee County sheriff’s officials said detectives determined the 44-year-old mother killed her two children, ages 14 and 11, in separate rooms before taking her own life elsewhere in the house. Investigators described the scene as violent and said there is no evidence anyone else was involved. The district medical examiner is expected to determine the official causes and manners of death as detectives continue building a timeline of the family’s final day.
The sheriff’s office said deputies were dispatched at about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 26 to a residence in the 8200 block of Pavia Way. The call was not a report of gunfire or a visible emergency. It was a welfare check requested by the homeowner, who was out of the country in South America and had been trying to reach his wife and children without success, officials said. When deputies arrived, they observed signs from outside that prompted them to enter the residence. Inside, they located three people dead in separate rooms.
Investigators said the victims were the homeowner’s wife, Monika Rubacha, 44, and the couple’s two children, Josh James, 14, and Emma James, 11. Officials said all three had traumatic injuries. Early in the investigation, sheriff’s officials said they were confident all involved parties had been accounted for and that there was no threat to the community. Detectives later said the evidence pointed to the mother as the killer, with the children attacked in different parts of the home before the mother died by suicide.
Randy Warren, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said investigators did not find evidence of an intruder or a second suspect. He said detectives were confident no one else entered or left the home in the period surrounding the deaths. Warren also emphasized that deputies had not previously been dispatched to the residence, describing the case as a shock even to experienced responders. He said investigators could not yet speak to the mother’s state of mind, and he declined to describe exactly how the deaths occurred while the medical examiner’s work remains pending.
Authorities have not announced a motive. Warren said investigators were still trying to understand what led up to the killings, noting that the case turned from a welfare check to a homicide investigation within minutes of deputies arriving. He also would not confirm whether a note was found. Still, Warren said investigators saw indications that the mother’s actions were not random. He said evidence suggested planning, describing it as showing she “knew what she was doing,” while adding that detectives would continue reviewing records and information leading up to the deaths.
Officials said the family moved to Florida from Missouri about three years ago and had not generated any calls for service at the address. Neighbors in The Lake Club, a gated subdivision in Lakewood Ranch, said the area is generally quiet, with families and children common on the streets. Residents described learning about the deaths through police presence and news reports, then watching as investigators remained at the house into the next day while evidence was collected and the scene was processed.
One resident, Paul Henne, told local media that the deaths rattled the neighborhood because it is a place where parents expect safety and routine. Investigators said the father returned from South America after the welfare check led to the discovery. Warren said the notification process was especially difficult because some relatives live outside the United States, and the sheriff’s office initially delayed releasing names to allow family members time to be notified. Authorities later publicly identified the victims as Rubacha and the two children.
The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch issued a brief statement acknowledging a tragic incident in the community. The statement said the matter remained under investigation by the sheriff’s office and that the community did not have additional information to provide. It also offered condolences and said it would not comment further out of respect for those involved while the investigation continues. Investigators said they will keep reviewing evidence and circumstances even though the suspected killer is dead, with the goal of producing a complete accounting of what happened.
As of March 1, the sheriff’s office said the case remained active, with detectives still reviewing evidence and awaiting the medical examiner’s official determinations. Investigators said they expect to provide additional updates as findings become available and as the timeline of events leading up to the deaths is confirmed.
Author note: Last updated March 1, 2026.