Child Entered Home After Playdate and Ran Back Outside for Help — Police Later Found a Murder-Suicide Inside By Sean Neumann

A Pennsylvania community is mourning the death of a local mother whose family says she was the victim of a murder-suicide at the hands of her longtime romantic partner before one of their children came home from a playdate and discovered their bodies.

Sarah Rice, a mother of four, and Greg A. Johnson, her longtime partner and the father of three of her children, were identified as the deceased by Bethlehem, Pa., officials this week, according to reports by the local Lehigh Valley Live, Lehigh Valley News and WFMZ. 

Rice, 39, and Johnson, 42, who were discovered dead in the basement of their home on Friday, Jan. 2. The couple shared three children, ages 8, 4 and 2, according to a GoFundMe launched by her older sister Janelle Rice to help raise money for the kids.

The couple was not officially married but had been together for more than 20 years, according to Lehigh Valley Live. The outlet reported that Rice also separately has a 24-year-old daughter, and is survived by her mother and three sisters.

“We have lost a beloved mother, daughter, wife, and friend to a senseless act of violence,” the GoFundMe post written by Rice’s older sister read, calling her death “a horrific act of harm.”

According to the Bethlehem Police Department, an adult called 911 after dropping off one of Rice’s children at home following a Friday night playdate. Soon after the child was dropped off, police said they came back out of the house and told the adult “a serious issue had occurred inside the residence.”

Police said they found two other children inside the home, as well as an older adult who appeared “unaware” that gunshots had rang out downstairs. Authorities said the older adult is not considered a suspect.

Rice and Johnson were both pronounced dead Friday night and were later identified by the Lehigh County Coroner on Monday, Jan. 5, per WFMZ.

Lehigh Valley Live reported that neighbors and family have since planned a vigil to be held outside the family’s home.

“She was very well loved,” neighbor Danielle Rau told the outlet. “Her whole life revolved around her children.”

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The couple’s three children have since been placed in the care of other family members, according to police, who have not yet clarified who shot who in the incident.

“The Bethlehem Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division is continuing the investigation with the assistance from the Lehigh Valley Homicide Task Force and the Lehigh Valley Coroner’s Office,” the police’s statement read, adding that “no further information will be released at this time.”