SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- According to detectives, a 41-year-old man murdered his wife and two young children, before killing himself.

"We have found a firearm, which is a clear indication of what we believe is a homicide-suicide," Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said.

The father is identified as John Wood who officers say killed his wife Cindy, 40, and his two children, 12-year-old Aubrey and 10-year-old Dillon.

---

AT THE SCENE: Aerials Of Home | Ground Images
NEWS CONFERENCE: Sheriff On Apparent Murder-Suicide

---

The tragic incident happened inside a house in the exclusive, gated Heathrow community in Lake Mary.

The Heathrow neighborhood is quiet and upscale, neighbors say and unaccustomed to violence. The entire Wood family was found dead in their home at 1214 Trentwood Court (see map) Monday by a cleaning lady.

Devastation was written unmistakably on the faces of family and friends who showed up to Trentwood Court Monday afternoon.

The small brown home, tucked on the end of a cul-de-sac in the pricey neighborhood became the scene of a horrific murder-suicide.

"It's just a horrible tragedy. There's no other way to describe it. And when you try to provide some rationale behind it, you just can't," said Eslinger.

The sheriff's office says a cleaning woman showed up around noon to find the house covered in blood and John Dillon Wood dead in the front entryway.

When detectives arrived, they found his wife Cindy in the bedroom, the body of sixth grader Aubrey lying on her bed and her younger brother, Dillon dead on the couch.

Forensic investigators said they could take 24 hours to fully collect evidence from the very complex scene. They were investigating the way blood splattered across the floor and walls and the hard drives on each family computer.

So far, the sheriff's office hasn't given a specific motive for the crime.

NEIGHBORS SAY FAMILY MAY HAVE HAD MONEY PROBLEMS

Eyewitness News learned there was no suicide note, but information from friends and neighbors point to problems with money and lost jobs for both the husband and wife. The couple had no history of domestic violence.

Eyewitness News also learned that John and Cindy Wood were high school sweethearts. Cindy Wood and her sister both married Woods brothers. The couple and their two children were well-known in their quiet Heathrow neighborhood.

"We saw the cars all weekend. We just figured they were in the pool," said neighbor George Stratis. "We saw Cindy on Friday night. Everybody knows everybody, we just waved hello as they were pulling out."

The last person to see any of the Woods' alive was another neighbor who had Dillon at her home for a sleep over on Saturday.

"It's a tragedy for out community it's a tragedy for our entire town," said neighbor Burma Davis Posey.

Posey said she was alarmed to hear that financial hardship may have played a role in the families tragic deaths.

"This is one street. It makes me wonder how many people across Florida and across the U.S. are facing this kind of stress," she said.

Back in 2004, John and Cindy Wood filed for bankruptcy. They had two mortgages on their Trentwood Court home and over $100,000 in debt on 17 credit cards. The Wood family had recently lost $2,500 gambling in Vegas.

By all appearances, the Woods were a happy and functional family.

"It's a tragedy for our community; it's a tragedy for our entire town," said another neighbor.

Dave Smith was Aubrey and Dillon's swim coach at the Heathrow Raquet Club and says they never showed up for a meet Saturday. He says they were good children and strong swimmers.

"You feel an emotional attachment being a coach, sad," said Smith.

Other children at the club have fond memories of them.

"She was always sweet and fun, just a regular 12-year-old girl," said one friend.

On Tuesday, a psychologist will be at the Heathrow Country Club at 1:00pm to help parents better explain this tragedy to their children who were friends with the family's two young kids.

In 2004, John Wood was a manager at Lowes, but friends of the family say recently John worked at Dick's Sporting Goods. Cynthia recently volunteered for a charity for children with cancer, Tee Up For Life.

The family had two dogs that survived and Seminole County Animal Services removed them from the home.

The dogs had been inside with the bodies of their owners for days. Sources told Eyewitness News the family's beagle was lying down next to Aubrey's body.

The family's beagle and sheltie were taken into care by the Seminole County Animal Shelter.