NE knife deaths murder-suicide

Murder-suicide proved to be the causes of death for a Northeast Philadelphia couple whose bodies were found in a gruesome house of horrors on Saturday, police said.

Investigators had found "plenty of blood" in nearly every room of Robert and Sophia DiAndrea's split-level house on Greycourt Road, said Homicide Sgt. Frank Hayes.

The husband and wife both bore numerous stab wounds, which led detectives to initially wonder if the couple had savagely battled to the death.

Further investigation led police to conclude that Robert, a 40-year-old Water Department supervisor, had stabbed his wife in the chest numerous times, then turned the knife on himself, Hayes said.

"She had quite a few defensive wounds on her," he said. "[Robert] slashed both of his arms multiple times."

Sophia, 39, a fifth-grade teacher at Anne Frank Elementary School, was found in a rear bedroom.

Police found Robert in a front bedroom. He didn't leave a suicide note, but detectives believe that the episode was sparked by a "domestic issue," Hayes said.

He declined to elaborate because the couple has three surviving children, two of whom - Joseph, 13, and Anthony, 10 - alerted neighbors when they found blood on the back door of their house on Saturday.

Sources previously said that the couple had a history of domestic problems and had been seeking a divorce.