KREM

Elizabeth Duman, 31, and her 18-month-old son Abraham were found dead and two more of her eight children suffered gunshot wounds inside their hillside home Thursday.

CLARKSTON, Wash. - A Clarkston mother shot three of her children, then turned the gun on herself, Asotin County Sheriff Ken Bancroft said Saturday.

Elizabeth Duman, 31, and her 18-month-old son Abraham were found dead and two more of her eight children suffered gunshot wounds inside their hillside home Thursday.

"At this time, the evidence indicates the deaths and injuries are the result of Elizabeth using a firearm," Bancroft said in a news release Saturday.

Ruby Rose Duman, 3 months, remained in critical condition and her 3-year-old brother Johannes Duman was in serious condition Saturday at the Spokane, Wash., hospital where they are being treated.

Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Dan Hally said Saturday investigators are still trying to find a motive for the shootings. He said it was not known if Elizabeth Duman had sought mental health counseling, but that likely would be explored as investigators look for a cause of the shootings.

Preliminary post-mortem examinations by the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office concluded the mother and son died of gunshot wounds, the sheriff said.

"An initial determination has been made that Elizabeth is responsible for her own death and the death of her son Abraham as well as for the injuries to her infant daughter Ruby Rose Duman and her 3-year-old son Johannes Duman," the sheriff's statement said.

The children's father, William Duman, 33, arrived home Thursday to find the bodies and called police, Hally said.

Hally said William Duman was with the surviving children. Officers have said at least one child was found uninjured in the home, located at the end of Scenic Hills Drive in the Clarkston Heights area of this southeastern Washington town.

Gail Price, clinical director of Quality Behavioral Health, which provides mental health services in Asotin County, said federal privacy laws prohibited her from saying whether Elizabeth Duman had sought treatment there.

St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in nearby Lewiston, Idaho, has a psychiatric facility and four full-time psychiatrists, she said. Hospital officials said federal law bars release of patient information.

In Asotin County, there are services available round the clock, whether or not people are covered by health insurance, she said.

"There are services available," she said. "We want to remind people we have a 24-7 helpline that will respond to any kind of crisis."