Police: Financial Problems Preceded Canton Murder-Suicide

Today wasn't the first time that the had gone to the scene of this morning's .

One year ago, police responded to an attempted suicide call at the unidentified couple's  apartment unit, Lt. German Rivas told Canton-Sixes Patch this afternoon.

The boyfriend, described by police as a white male in his early 30s, was intoxicated.

"He had locked himself in the restroom," Rivas said. "When police arrived, he had passed out."

As police continue to piece together what led to the first murder-suicide in Canton since 2008, new details paint a picture of a family under financial durress.

Meanwhile, a new jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has inspired some to call for reinforcing the safety net that the family appears to have fallen through.

Behind on bills, the boyfriend and his 20-something-year-old girlfriend were scheduled to move out of the Alexander Ridge today or Saturday with their toddler son.

"We don't know whether there was an eviction notice," he said. "There were boxes in the apartment, an indication that they were moving."

An official at Alexander Ridge declined to comment.

Police have learned about the couple's money problems from the man's brother, who discovered the family lying on a bedroom floor with a carbine-like rifle nearby around 6:45 a.m.

The brother lived in the unit, which was news to apartment staff, Rivas said.

"The brother actually has a North Carolina address," he said. "He just stayed here because he was working in Smyrna.

"He got up this morning, went downstairs to put some things in his car to get ready to go to work, then went back upstairs. He realized that he hadn't seen them or heard from them and he went to check on them and that's when he found them."

Rivas said the shootings happened between 4:30 p.m. Thursday – when the boyfriend was seen on the balcony talking on a cell phone – and this morning.

It's not clear if anyone in the home had a weapons permit, he said.

"We understand that (the boyfriend) had several weapons," Rivas said. "The brother thought he had sold all of them."

More on this story

• Watch of Lt. German Rivas talking to Canton-Sixes Patch this morning.