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3 weeks ago
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Four young siblings hid in terror inside their Maryland home for hours after a gunman shot their parents dead in their bed.
Authorities described a 'crime of rage and anger' inside the home of Crimea Malita Baker, 33, and Sean Lange, 34, after they were shot 42 times at close range in their bedroom in New Market.
Baker was the mother of all four children, and Lange was the father of one, with Baker's social media showing she recently gave birth in February.
Officials have not identified any suspects or motive in the investigation, and police did not comment on whether there were signs of a break-in.
Crimea Malita Baker, 33, and Sean Lange, 34, were shot dead Tuesday in their home in New Market, Maryland, and were discovered by Baker's children
Police have not yet identified any motive or suspects, and described the gruesome slaying as a 'crime of rage and anger'
Police were called to the home at 7am Tuesday morning, but said the shooting unfolded around 1:30am that night.
When asked at a press conference to explain the hours-long delay, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said the children hid in the house for hours until they felt it was safe for them to emerge.
Jenkins declined to confirm whether one of the children made the 911 call to police, and said while the children were unharmed they were traumatized by the tragedy.
'I can't imagine what is going through their minds,' Jenkins said.
'One of the children discovered his mother and the gentleman in the bed dead at the time. I can just say their life is destroyed. It's upside down right now.'
While no motive or suspect has been identified, Jenkins said that early indications are that the couple were targeted, as he noted that detectives found 42 shell casings around their bed.
'This was a heinous, targeted double murder — a crime of rage and anger,' the sheriff added.
Baker was the mother of all four children, and Lange was the father of one, with Baker's social media showing she recently gave birth in February
Police said that early indications are that the couple were targeted, as noted that 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 to be a murder-suicide.
Jenkins described it as 'the type of crime that shocks the conscience', but insisted that 'there is absolutely no reason to believe there is any risk or threat to the local public at large.'
'I can assure the public that every available investigator and agency resource will be brought to bear in this case until the person(s) responsible are identified, arrested, and brought to justice,' he said.
Baker was described by a friend in a heartbreaking Facebook tribute as a doting and hardworking mother 'who raised resilient, thoughtful tenderhearted children.'
'Even as I look through our videos I notice how every single one of them is filled with laughter,' her friend wrote.
In a previous GoFundMe created by Baker in 2018, the mother-of-four described herself as a 'domestic violence survivor' and asked for funds to hire a lawyer for a divorce.
'This past year has been the most difficult, heartbreaking, and challenging year of my life,' she wrote.
Baker was described as a doting and hardworking mother, who had previously described herself as a 'survivor of domestic violence' whose allegedly abusive ex-husband allegedly took her children from her years ago
'From surviving the pain and anxiety caused by physical abuse and emotional abuse. I can't even completely and fully describe the range of emotions.'
Baker wrote that her children's allegedly 'abusive father' and his mother hid her children from her, and at the time she was scrambling to locate them and bring them home.
'This is heartbreaking as I don't have the financial resources to properly fight against this. He is unstable mentally and already has reports of threatening family with a loaded weapon,' she wrote.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Reese at 301-600-3640.
English (US)