Fearing Apocalypse, Utah Parents Drug and Kill Themselves And 3 Children, Police Say

A family of five in Utah who were found dead in their home last fall died of drug overdose after the parents told other family members and friends that they were concerned over the "apocalypse," authorities said on Tuesday.

The couple Kristi and Benjamin Strack and three of their children were found dead in their Springville home on Sept. 27, 2014. The bodies of Benjamin and Kristi were found on their bed while those of their three children aged 11, 12 and 14 were found on the floor of their locked master.

According to Springville Police Chief J. Scott Finlayson, investigators discovered that the five family members died of drug toxicity from either methadone, heroin or a combination of drugs, including those found in cold medicine, NBC News reported.

Beside each body were cups with liquid inside, CNN said. No signs of violence were found by authorities.

The parents were found to have committed suicide while authorities ruled that the deaths of two younger children were homicides despite having no signs of struggle.

The manner of death of 14-year-old Benson Strack, however, has yet to be determined as investigators could not be sure whether he was already capable of deciding to join his parents in committing suicide at that time.

No suicide notes were found, but investigators got hold of a notebook with a handwritten list for things to do before going off on a vacation, such as feeding the pets and asking someone to watch after their house.

Interviews with people who knew the Stracks family showed that the parents were worried about evil in the world and wanted to escape the "impending doom," said Finlayson.

"There seemed to be a concern about a pending apocalypse that the parents bought into," Finlayson was quoted as saying by NBC News. "While some friends though that suicide may have been, or could have been, included in their plans, others believed they were going to move somewhere and live off the grid."