Father in Financial Distress Accused of Killing His Family

A father is accused of killing his mother-in-law, wife and two young children in cold blood.  He's pled not guilty, but did financial problems push him over the edge?  INSIDE EDITION reports.

They said he was a loving dad, but Thomas Mortimer IV now stands accused of doing the unthinkable—slaughtering his entire family in cold blood; his mother-in-law; his wife and his two kids.

The brutal killings have left stunned family members asking why.

"Everyone asks why did this happen? The truth is, we don't know and may never know," said Mortimer's sister-in-law.

The 43-year-old accused killer, who has pled not guilty, was once a hot shot software salesman but lost his job two years ago. His friends say he was angry and bitter.

"He was forced to move his family in with his wife's mother, and according to prosecutors, Mortimer and his wife argued constantly.

Then, two weeks ago, cops say Thomas Mortimer IV snapped. He attempted to take his own life but failed. They say he left a note at the scene that read in part:

"What I've done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I've murdered my family."

Mortimer is just the latest desperate dad to allegedly snap over financial despair.  It also happened in Los Angeles, Queens, New York, Palm Beach, Forida and Westford, Massachusetts.

INSIDE EDITION asked criminal profiler Pat Brown how this can happen.

"With men, a lot of times when they've lost their job, when their place in society is downsized, they feel like a loser and they tend to blame their wife and children for causing a lot of the problems in their life," said Brown.

Sadly, after two years of unemployment, Thomas Mortimer IV had just found a new job at a software company in Boston. His boss, Mike Wegerbauer showed us his desk. You could see where Mortimer doodled on a pad. He had been working at his new job just two weeks before cops say he turned on his family.

"There was no sign of anything other than being a nice friendly individual," said Wegerbauer.

The children, 2-year-old Charlotte and 4-year-old Finn were laid to rest in small white caskets alongside their mom and grandmother.

The dead mom's sister paid tribute to the victims, saying, "Nothing will ever completely absorb the pain that this tragedy has left behind."