Couple, 5-year-old daughter dead in apparent murder-suicide in Houston: Sheriff

A husband and wife, as well as their 5-year-old daughter, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Houston, leaving their family "traumatized," according to local authorities.

The bodies of the 36-year-old man, 37-year-old woman and little girl were discovered in their apartment Friday afternoon when family members who hadn't heard from them went to conduct a welfare check, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters on Friday.

A weapon was found at the location, he said.

"This is a total surprise -- there were not apparent issues that [the family members] knew of," Gonzalez said.

"These are always the most horrific scenes when there's a child involved. We simply can make no sense of it," Gonzalez said.

"This appears to be another situation stemming from domestic violence," the sheriff said. "Our condolences go out to the family members that are our here were trying to comfort them the best we can."

Their names have not been released.