Drôme: a family tragedy leaves five dead

At around 7 am this morning, a father took his own life by throwing himself in front of a train in the town of Tain-L’Hermitage in the Drôme department. The gendarmes found his written confession in his car. On arriving at the family home in Beaumont-lès-Valence, the police made the grim discovery of the three children, aged between 5 and 13, as well as the man’s partner. According to the Public Prosecutor of Valence, as reported by *Le Dauphiné*: “The couple, who were not married, appeared to be separating. The man had left the family home about a fortnight ago, and he seemed to be finding the separation very difficult to cope with.” He added that “the fatal injuries were inflicted with a bladed weapon”. It would therefore appear that this family tragedy stemmed from what was clearly a difficult separation.