Four young siblings hid in terror inside their Maryland home for hours after a gunman shot and killed their parents in their bed.
Authorities described a “crime of rage and anger” inside the home of Crimean Malita Baker, 33, and Sean Lange, 34, after they were shot 42 times at point-blank range in their bedroom in New Market.
Baker was the mother of four children and Lange was the father of one; Baker’s social media shows she recently gave birth in February.
Authorities have not identified any suspects or motive in the investigation, and police would not comment on whether there were signs of a break-in.
Malita Baker, 33, and Sean Lange, 34, were shot to death Tuesday at their home in New Market, Maryland, and were discovered by Baker’s children.
Police have yet to identify any motive or suspect, describing the gruesome killing as a “crime of rage and anger.”
Police were called to the home at 7 a.m. Tuesday but said the shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. that night.
Asked at a news conference to explain the hours-long delay, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said the children hid in the home for hours until they felt it was safe to come out.
Jenkins declined to confirm whether one of the children made the 911 call to police and said that while the children were unharmed, they were traumatized by the tragedy.
“I can’t imagine what’s going through their minds,” Jenkins said.
“One of the children discovered his mother and the man who was in bed dead at the time. I can only say that his life is destroyed. Right now it is upside down.”
While no motive or suspect has been identified, Jenkins said early indications are that the couple was targeted, as she said detectives found 42 shell casings around their bed.
“This was a heinous, targeted double murder – a crime of anger and rage,” the sheriff added.
Baker was the mother of four children and Lange was the father of one; Baker’s social media shows she recently gave birth in February.
Police said early indications are that the couple was targeted, as detectives found 42 shell casings around the victim’s bed.
Authorities said that although the investigation is still in its early stages, they do not believe the deaths are a murder-suicide.
Jenkins described it as “the kind of crime that shocks the conscience” but insisted that “there is absolutely no reason to believe that there is any risk or threat to the local public at large.”
“I can assure the public that all available investigators and agency resources will be brought to bear on this case until those responsible are identified, arrested and brought to justice,” he said.
A friend described Baker in a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook as a loving, hard-working mother “who raised resilient, caring and kind-hearted children.”
“Even when I watch our videos, I notice how each one of them is filled with laughter,” her friend wrote.
In a previous GoFundMe set up by Baker in 2018, the mother of four described herself as a “domestic violence survivor” and asked for funds to hire a divorce attorney.
“This past year has been the most difficult, heartbreaking and challenging year of my life,” she wrote.
Baker was described as a loving, hard-working mother, who had previously described herself as a “domestic violence survivor” whose allegedly abusive ex-husband allegedly took her children from her years ago.
“From having survived the pain and anxiety caused by physical and emotional abuse. I can’t even fully describe the range of emotions.”
Baker wrote that her children’s alleged “abusive father” and mother hid her children from her and that she was currently struggling to locate them and bring them home.
“This is heartbreaking because I do not have the financial resources to fight this properly. He is a mentally unstable man and there are already allegations that he has threatened his family with a loaded gun,” she wrote.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Reese at 301-600-3640.
