Mother and three children killed in US

Post-mortem examinations are being performed on the bodies of a young mother and three small children found slain in what was described by police as a violent crime scene in north Florida.

The street has reopened in front of the home, which was otherwise quiet this morning. Tallahassee police spokesman David McCranie said the post-mortem examinations are being done in the morning, and authorities working to find out who may have wanted to harm the family hope to have more information by the afternoon.

Neighbours and some who identified themselves as relatives said the woman was a single, stay-at-home mother raising twin 6-year-old girls and a 3-year-old son. Authorities confirmed the ages of the dead children, but not their identities.