Erie man stabbed wife, son to death before fatally shooting himself, police say

Erie police confirmed Tuesday that last weekend's deaths of a couple and their 4-year-old son are being investigated as a domestic violence murder-suicide.John "JP" Farrar, Elizabeth "Stacy" Farrar and their son Ian were found dead Saturday morning in...

Erie man stabbed wife, son to death before fatally shooting himself, police say

Erie police confirmed Tuesday that last weekend's deaths of a couple and their 4-year-old son are being investigated as a domestic violence murder-suicide.

John "JP" Farrar, Elizabeth "Stacy" Farrar and their son Ian were found dead Saturday morning in their home at 1973 Gordon Court.

Erie police Chief Kim Stewart said in an email that police believe John Farrar stabbed both Elizabeth and their son Ian to death before fatally shooting himself.

"As you are aware, the results from the Boulder County Coroner's Office will likely not be finalized for several weeks," Stewart said in the statement. "With that said, I want to share with you this case is being treated as a domestic violence murder-suicide."

Erie police initially did not release any information about the deaths, but did say there were no suspects and no perceived threat to the public.

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett posted on Facebook on Saturday that his office was investigating a murder-suicide, although he deleted the message later that day.

John Farrar, 48, had no prior criminal history in Colorado other than a traffic citation in 1998, and Erie police said they had never been called to the couple's address on any previous domestic violence reports.

According to what appears to be John Farrar's LinkedIn page, he started a 5-month-long job in January as the invasive weeds manager for Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona.

His previous work experience included three months working in the lumber and building materials department at Lowe's, and working as a biological science technician for nine months at National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins

Stacy Farrar was born in Southern California but grew up in Colorado, according to her website. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in geological science from the University of Colorado.

She worked as an aerospace engineer for more than a decade at Ball Aerospace and was pursuing a career in acting.

Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars

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