A Florida school teacher was killed in an apparent murder-suicide with her 10-month-old baby discovered crying and unharmed in a crib.
Amanda Hicks, 26, was found dead after police went to an apartment in Port St Lucie to carry out a welfare check that had been requested by the family of an adult male.
Port St Lucie police say that when officers arrived at the home in Peacock Run Apartments they could hear the infant crying inside and when they entered discovered Hicks and the male dead on the floor.
The baby was removed from the property and placed with a family member.
Investigators said in a statement that Hicks “was killed by an adult male who then took his own life.” Police say that Hicks and the unidentified male were “romantically involved.”
Hicks was a sixth-grade reading teacher at Dr David L Anderson Middle School in Martin County, school officials confirmed.
In a message sent to parents and staff, school principal Darcia Borel said that Hick’s death was a tragedy.
“It is with great sadness that we write to inform you about the tragic passing of one of our teachers, Ms Amanda Hicks,” Ms Borel wrote.
“The Port St Lucie Police Department has confirmed that Ms Hicks was the victim of a homicide. While words will never be enough to convey the shock and sadness this news has brought to our school family, it is more important than ever to come together to support one another through our grief journey.”