DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - Police in De Pere have confirmed the victims' identities following Friday's tragic triple murder-suicide on the city's east side.
Authorities say 46-year-old Denis Bay shot his wife, 44-year-old Michelle, and the couple's two children, 14-year-old Andrea and 10-year-old Daniel with a .45 caliber hand gun.
Chief Derek Beiderwieden says Denis then called 911 shortly before 3 pm on Friday. And while dispatch had officers rush to the scene, Denis shot himself while still on the line.
Meantime, the community surrounding the 1200 block of South Erie Street remains in shock over this crime.
People placed memorials across the street from the house.
"I was in disbelief. It's just...too hard, too hard," neighbor Jane Nohr told FOX 11.
Nohr says she's trying to wrap her mind around how every member of the family who lived in the blue house behind her for years is now dead.
"I was shocked. I never thought it would go this far," she said.
Neighbors say the Bays were a nice, quiet family who generally kept to themselves. Some neighbors say the wife had mentioned the couple had been having marital problems.
Online court records show the Bays were in the middle of a contested divorce. Police say Denis had also lost his job.
“I had spoken with her and she told me that she left Denis and they were going to try to reconcile for six months and if it didn't work out, she was going to move to California by her sister and take the children with her. But then Denis lost his job, for about a year now," said Nohr.
Officers say they still don't know the motive for the shooting. And as authorities piece together their investigation, neighbors say they just don't understand why a father of two would shoot his wife and children.
Police say a dog and cat taken from the home were taken to the Humane Society and are expected to be released to relatives.
De Pere Police say their investigation continues as they attempt to piece together a timeline of what led to the fatal shootings
