Mother, daughters die while trying to stop father from committing suicide

Mother and two adopted daughters, 10 and 16, die from carbon monoxide poisoning while desperately trying to stop father from committing suicide

• Police officers were making a welfare check when they discovered the family dead 
• Gary Reitnauer, 59, went into the garage and started the car with the intent to kill himself after having a fight with his wife
• Michelle Reitnauer, 58, broke a window to access the garage to save her husband, but was overcome by fumes along with her 16-year-old daughter

1. Couple's 10-year-old daughter was found by paramedics clinging to life, but later died

Family and neighbors in a small Pennsylvania town were left reeling when it was revealed that a family of four, including two young girls, who were found dead Monday perished as a result of the husband’s suicide by carbon monoxide. 

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said that a state police investigation indicates that Gary Reitnauer went to the garage of an adjacent home on the family's property on Monday and started the car after having a fight with his wife, Michelle.

He said it is believed that Michelle Reitnauer and the family's two daughters tried to save him and were overcome by the fumes. Fire department rescue crews were unable to revive the family.

Scroll down for video

Heartbreaking loss: Kimberly Reitnauer, 16 (left), and her 10-year-old sister, Jamie (right), both had succumbed to carbon monoxide fumes while checking up on their parents 

Scene of tragedy: Carbon monoxide from a car left running in the garage apparently killed a family of four inside this Milford Township, Pa. home

‘Good man,’ a nephew, Rob Zern, told reporters as he left the home Tuesday. ‘The family was trying to save each other and it didn't work out ... don't know what all went wrong, but it's a tragedy all around.’

State police were called to the Reitnauer family's 1525 Kumry Road in Milford Township at 11.20pm Monday, and found it filled with carbon monoxide coming from the attached garage.

The fire department also responded and discovered the victims. Paramedics on the scene attempted to revive the family, but it was too late.

The victims have been identified as 59-year-old Gary Reitnauer, his wife, Michele, 58, and their two adopted daughters, 16-year-old Yun Jiao 'Kimberly' Cao and Jamie Hongfan Reitnauer, 10.

Investigators ‘believe the husband committed suicide and each...of the family members succumbed to carbon monoxide when they went to check on him and tried to rescue him,’ Heckler said.

State police have found no note but the garage door handle had been knocked off ‘which suggested that the husband went in there and did not intend to be disturbed or rescued,’ Heckler said.

Deadly intentions: Police say Gary Reitnauer broke a latch on the garage door (pictured) to prevent anyone from getting in a stopping his suicide

He said the circumstances also indicate that the wife went to the garage and broke the window of another door in an attempt to rescue him, but was apparently overcome by the deadly fumes and was found inside.

The family's 16-year-old daughter, Kimberly, became concerned that her parents had not come back and went to check up on them. She was found dead in the kitchenadjacent to the garage. 

Heckler said her 10-year-old sister, Jamie, was talking to friends during the ordeal, and they had advised her to call 911, but her mother had told her not to alert police,PhillyBurbs.com reported..

At some point, the girl also went over to the second property to look for her parents and sister. When paramedics arrived, the child was found in the kitchen next to her sister's body still clinging to live, but she too later died. 

Autopsies will be performed on the victims Wednesday to determine the exact cause of death. 

PhillyBurbs.com reported that the family of four living in a house at the rear of Mayer's Well Drilling company consisted of the couple and two daughters adopted from Asia.

Police officers responded to the home on Kumry Road after getting a request to check up on the welfare of residents living there.

Sources tell ABC Action News that Gary Reitnauer's body was inside a car with the motor running and the garage door closed. 

Friends and neighbors stunned by death of Reitnauer family

Loving family: Neighbors said the Reitnauers lived on the property in Milford Township for about 15 years and appeared to be a happy, close-knit family

Quakertown Community School District Superintendent Lisa Andrejko posted a message to the school district's website informing parents and students about the tragic incident and asking the community to pray for the family.

The school district made arrangements to bring in counselors to help students and staff cope with the loss. 

The site said Kimberly, a junior, was a gifted student, receiving the highest possible score on the advanced placement calculus exam at the end of her sophomore year. 

‘She was just the sweetest soul, the one taking care of everyone else,’ high school math teacher MaryAnn Byatt said on the website. ‘She was beautiful inside and out,' Byatt added.

She also sang in the chorus and played in the jazz band, and was set to compete at a band festival in Erie.

Her sister was a fifth grader at Trumbauersville Elementary School and took part in her school's Reading Olympics Team. Like her sister, she played in the school band and sang in the chorus. She wanted to become a veterinarian, the site said.

The children were adopted from China, according to Maggie Chambers, a neighbor. She said they were ‘just the sweetest family.’

Like other neighbors and friends, the deaths stunned her.

‘It's not that kind of family,’ she said. ‘For me to even think for a minute that this was a deliberate thing, it's just not them. It's not.’

Six of Kimberly's high school classmates placed flowers on the family's mailbox Tuesday afternoon, then formed a circle, clasped hands and prayed. 

Afterward, they remembered their friend as a highly intelligent student near the top of her class, and as a talented musician who played piano and trumpet. She was happy, kind and humble, they said.

Terrible discovery: Police officers arrived at the house for a welfare check, only to find a man, his wife and one of the children dead in the garage, and their other daughter dead inside the house

Close-knit clan: The family lived in the five-bedroom house for about 15 years, and the kids' grandmother resided on the property in a trailer

‘Everyone here loved her. She always had a smile on her face. Her whole family did. They were just the happiest people, and they made everyone else feel the same way,’ said Aislinn Strohecker, 17, a close friend and neighbor.

Neighbors said there was no inkling of trouble in the Reitnauer home.

Mrs Reitnauer gave Christmas cookies every year to a well-drilling company down the gravel road, and would fetch the company's mail when she got her own, according to Gloria Mayberry, a secretary at the firm. 

Reitnauer's 59-year-old husband, known as ‘Ozzy,’ would use the bucket on his John Deere tractor to take his trash can to the end of the drive, a cigar usually hanging from his mouth, she recalled.

Mayer's manager Paul Moser described the victims as a nice family who appeared loving. Speaking of the husband, Moser said Gary Reitnauer always appeared happy and laughing in the office.