A mother who shot dead her three young children inside a car outside their home before turning the gun on herself called her children ‘her life’ in an eerie Facebook post.
The body of Maribel Isela Ibarra, 32, was found on Tuesday night in West Haven, Utah, alongside the remains of her son, 4, and two daughters, 1 and 2.
Police confirmed their deaths were a murder-suicide committed by Ibarra at a press conference on Friday, after reviewing CCTV footage from neighbors.
Ibarra carried out the unthinkable crime overnight on Sunday or Monday, and their bodies were not found until family called 911 at 9:47 pm on Tuesday.
Astonished family said they had no idea Ibarra was struggling with her mental health and there were no signs she was anything but a ‘loving mother’.
Maribel Isela Ibarra, 32, shot dead her son, 4, and two daughters, 2 and 1, before turning the gun on herself in a car outside their home
The killer mom came from a large family (pictured in 2020), including at least nine nieces and nephews (youngest ones were not yet born)
Ibarra at the beach with her two eldest children in one of two photos left on her social media
Her Facebook bio even read ‘mis hijos son mi vida’ in Spanish, which translates to ‘my children are my life’.
Photos showed Ibarra taking her children to the beach and to meet Santa, and posing on a rhino statue with her son.
But she was clearly shaken by the death of her mother Elvia Ibarra on April 1, at the age of 69, changing her Facebook profile picture to a black mourning ribbon.
Ibarra also changed her name on social media to ‘Jya Canchola’ sometime before the murder-suicide, the meaning of which is unclear.
She moved in with her father, Jose Ibarra, who was married to Elvia for more than 50 years, after her mother’s death and appeared to have split from her husband.
Ibarra had four brothers (pictured left to right, Angel, Jason, Christian and Julio, along with their parents Jose and Elvia)
Ibarra was clearly shaken by the death of her mother Elvia Ibarra on April 1, at the age of 69 (pictured together along with Ibarra’s murdered children)
Photos showed Ibarra taking her children to the beach and to meet Santa, and posing on a rhino statue with her son
Ibarra in another family photo at her brother Jason’s university graduation
The killer mom came from a large family with roots in Mexico, and had four brothers named Jason, Julio, Christian and Angel, and at least nine nieces and nephews.
Jason is a local real estate agent and father of five daughters, Julio a father-of-four and Angel a biochemical engineer at the University of Utah.
‘We are going through an extremely difficult time, with a pain in our hearts that cannot be explained in words due to the invaluable loss we have suffered, because they were the light of our lives,’ the family said in a statement.
‘As a family, we unfortunately knew nothing about her mental health. We always saw her as a loving mother, which makes this so shocking for us.
‘We do not know the exact reasons why this tragedy happened, and we deeply regret it. This pain is something we wish no one would ever have to go through.’
Friends, family and neighbors piled flowers and plush toys on the steps in memorial
A child’s toy bike sat on the front lawn of the house
Ibarra (left) with her mother and other family
The family urged anyone going through difficult times to seek help instead of hiding their pain until it was too late.
‘Speak out and trust that you can overcome any situation. As we mentioned, our pain is beyond words, and as a family, we are trying to get through this, even though we honestly do not know exactly how to cope with it,’ they said.
‘This is why we ask you to please respect our grief, so that in this way you can help us begin to heal, little by little, even though right now it seems unattainable.
‘We trust that God and the outpouring of love from the community will keep us strong and guide us to a path where we may one day find peace.
‘We are grateful for the support and prayers of the entire community.’
Ibarra carried out the unthinkable crime overnight on Sunday or Monday and their bodies were not found until family called 911 at 9.47pm on Tuesday
Two white SUVs were parked at the front of the house, and it was unclear which one Ibarra and her children were found in the rear storage area of
Weber County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Terance Lavely said the children’s father was interviewed, and police were satisfied no one else was involved.
‘I don’t know if we will ever be able to answer that question. Maribel would be the one to answer that and obviously we can’t ask her that,’ he said.
Two white SUVs were parked at the front of the house, and it was unclear which one Ibarra and her children were found in the rear storage area of after cops investigated.
A child’s toy bike sat on the front lawn, and friends, family, and neighbors piled flowers and plush toys on the steps in memorial.
‘These kinds of cases are very tough on everybody involved, as well as the community,’ Lieutenant Colby Ryan said.
‘Whenever you may have little kids die in such a way, yeah, it’s very difficult for our officers, our deputies, our CSI team, the homicide task force and neighbors.’
