40-year-old Ervin Antonio Lupoe shot himself, his wife Ana Lupoe and their five children fatally on January 27, 2009. Before the shootings, Lupoe faxed a letter to a TV station where he claimed he and his wife had been fired and that he was planning to kill his family.CBS 13: LA Man Upset Over Job Kills Wife, 5 Kids, Self (January 27, 2009)

On the day following the murder-suicide, Los Angeles police revealed that Lupoe had been immersed in tens-of-thousands of dollars in debt, owing at least $15,000 to the IRS and thousands more on a separate line of credit. The Lupoe family were in the process of moving to his brother-in-laws home in Kansas. It was also revealed that both Lupoe and his wife had been laid off from their hospital jobs after the couple was investigated for lying about their income to qualify for cheaper child care.Newsweek: LAPD: Dad in family's murder-suicide awash in debt

Lupoe's fax had his name and address. The TV station called police after receiving the fax. Police also received a phone call the same morning from a man who said: "I just returned home and my whole family's been shot". Police believe the phone call was made by Lupoe.CBS 13: LA Man Upset Over Job Kills Wife, 5 Kids, Self (January 27, 2009) When arriving to the house, police found the family dead.LA Times: Suspected Wilmington gunman, wife had lost jobs at Kaiser Permanente (January 27, 2009) Police also found a letter that discussed "work-related issues".LA Times: Suspected Wilmington gunman, wife had lost jobs at Kaiser Permanente (January 27, 2009)

Later in the week, on January 28, 2009, another family was found dead in their house in Columbus, Ohio. Police believe Mark Meeks shot his wife Jennifer Dallas Meeks and their two children and then killed himself. Police said they found a suicide note that appeared to be written by Mark at the scene.CNN: Ohio family found dead in suspected murder-suicide (January 29, 2009)