Police: Michigan mother, 2 kids stabbed with knife - WNEM TV 5

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

Associated Press

Police say a mother and two children found dead in a suburban Detroit home were stabbed with a butcher knife.

Van Buren Township police Capt. Gregory Laurain said Friday autopsies on the victims show 34-year-old Linda VanDerLinden died of strangulation, but had been stabbed in the chest. According to Laurain, the medical examiner's report also says 7-year-old Julien VanDerLinden and his 4-year-old brother, Matthew, were stabbed multiple times in the chest and arms.

Police say they recovered the weapon they believe was used in the stabbings, an 8 1/2-inch butcher knife, in the kitchen sink.

Authorities discovered the bodies Thursday when they went to notify family members that Michael VanDerLinden died in a crash on an Indiana freeway.

Laurain says Michael VanDerLinden is suspected of killing his wife and two children.

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