Police: Man kills girlfriend, her daughter, then self in Wading River murder-suicide

WADING RIVER (WABC) -- Suffolk County Police are investigating a murder-suicide during which three people died in Wading River Sunday night.

Riverhead Town Police were called to 27 12th St. after a resident of the home called 911 to report a gunshot victim.

When police entered the home, they found three people dead from gunshot wounds.

Authorities believe 44-year-old Thomas Calhoun shot and killed his girlfriend, 43-year-old Tanya Lawrence, and her daughter, 17-year-old Danielle Lawrence, before killing himself.

All three lived at the house. Another unidentified resident of the home, believed to be Lawrence's youngest child, called 911 and escaped the rampage on orders from the dispatcher.

Sources say Tanya Lawrence had apparently told Calhoun that she intended to end their relationship.

Detectives seized a rifle and an illegal handgun from the bloody crime scene.

Calhoun had been dating Lawrence for several months and has multiple arrests for DWI. School officials in Riverhead said they had no idea about Danielle Lawrence's troubled home life.

"We are devastated as a high school and as a community," Danielle's teacher said in a statement. "She was a sweet, caring young girl, and we all knew she would do great things in life. It's a tragedy that's so hard to put into words."

The investigation is continuing.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on this case to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392.