By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 09:26 EST, 12 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:02 EST, 12 February 2013 . A father of four young children called police to say he had killed his wife and was going to take his own life - and when authorities arrived, they found both parents dead. David Scott Donaldson, 37, apparently shot his wife, Shaniel Kaye Donaldson, 32, multiple times at their home in Price, Utah early on Sunday morning before turning the gun on himself, police said. Their children, a 13-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and twin seven-year-old girls, were also in the house at the time but were not harmed. The children heard a commotion but did not see the killings. Tragic: David Scott Donaldson, left, shot dead his wife Shaniel, right, before taking his own life, police said. Their four children, all pictured, were also in the house at the time but not injured . Price Police Chief Kevin Drolc said that Mr Donaldson had been struggling with depression and deteriorating physical health, while relatives said the couple had been having marital problems. Donaldson called the Price City Police Department just before 3 a.m. on Sunday to raise the alarm, and its officers were joined by personnel from the Carbon County Sheriff's Department, Utah Highway Patrol and . Helper Police at the scene. As officers tried to contact the husband and wife, they spoke with the children over the phone and were able to give them instructions to get them out safely, Police Capt. William Barnes told Fox 13. A SWAT team entered the residence and the couple's bodies were found in the master bedroom. The children are now in the custody of their grandparents and Donaldson's aunt told KSL that 'it's not going to be easy for them'. Happier times: Police say Donaldson was depressed and that the couple were having marital problems . Loss: Mrs Donaldson, a nurse, was found next to her husband in the master bedroom of their home . She added that the couple had some marital problems in recent years, but they would never have expected the murder-suicide. 'Last . night [relatives] were in contact with them and things seemed to be . okay,' she said. 'But what happened between then and 3 o'clock in the . morning we just don't know.' Donaldson had recently left his job at the Price Youth Detention Center because of health reasons. 'Depression and marital problems are the . likely contributing factors to this,' Chief Drolc told the Salt Lake Tribune. 'There also . were some employment issues and disability issues for Mr. Donaldson.' Family: The children, aged 13, 11 and seven-year-old twins, are now staying with their grandparents . With Mummy: Hours before her death, Shaniel was making playdate plans with a friend on Facebook . Mr Donaldson appears to have written on a Facebook photo of his family just hours before pulling the trigger. 'This was when I was 60 lbs heavier but that is ok,' he wrote in the early hours of Sunday. 'I still love the family pic.' His wife, believed to be a nurse, was . also using the site before her death, telling one friend she would call . her in the morning as they made plans to play with the Donaldsons' new . puppy. Drolc said that the deaths have been ruled an apparent murder-suicide, pending autopsies. Scene: A SWAT team found the bodies in the home's master bedroom, which can be seen top left . Court records show that Mrs Donaldson Shaniel filed a cohabitant abuse case against her husband in 2005. The case was dismissed just days later, the Tribune reported. According to the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative, between 2003 and 2008, a third of domestic violence homicide suspects killed themselves after murdering their partners . They often had a history of domestic violence, access to a gun, had previously made threats, and had poor mental health or substance abuse issues. 92.6 percent of the suspects were men.
David Donaldson, 37, and his wife Shaniel, 32, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at their home early on Sunday morning .
Their four children, aged 13, 11 and 7-year-old twins, were unharmed .
Mr Donaldson 'was struggling with depression and ailing physical health'
By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 09:26 EST, 12 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:02 EST, 12 February 2013 . A father of four young children called police to say he had killed his wife and was going to take his own life - and when authorities arrived, they found both parents dead. David Scott Donaldson, 37, apparently shot his wife, Shaniel Kaye Donaldson, 32, multiple times at their home in Price, Utah early on Sunday morning before turning the gun on himself, police said. Their children, a 13-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and twin seven-year-old girls, were also in the house at the time but were not harmed. The children heard a commotion but did not see the killings. Tragic: David Scott Donaldson, left, shot dead his wife Shaniel, right, before taking his own life, police said. Their four children, all pictured, were also in the house at the time but not injured . Price Police Chief Kevin Drolc said that Mr Donaldson had been struggling with depression and deteriorating physical health, while relatives said the couple had been having marital problems. Donaldson called the Price City Police Department just before 3 a.m. on Sunday to raise the alarm, and its officers were joined by personnel from the Carbon County Sheriff's Department, Utah Highway Patrol and . Helper Police at the scene. As officers tried to contact the husband and wife, they spoke with the children over the phone and were able to give them instructions to get them out safely, Police Capt. William Barnes told Fox 13. A SWAT team entered the residence and the couple's bodies were found in the master bedroom. The children are now in the custody of their grandparents and Donaldson's aunt told KSL that 'it's not going to be easy for them'. Happier times: Police say Donaldson was depressed and that the couple were having marital problems . Loss: Mrs Donaldson, a nurse, was found next to her husband in the master bedroom of their home . She added that the couple had some marital problems in recent years, but they would never have expected the murder-suicide. 'Last . night [relatives] were in contact with them and things seemed to be . okay,' she said. 'But what happened between then and 3 o'clock in the . morning we just don't know.' Donaldson had recently left his job at the Price Youth Detention Center because of health reasons. 'Depression and marital problems are the . likely contributing factors to this,' Chief Drolc told the Salt Lake Tribune. 'There also . were some employment issues and disability issues for Mr. Donaldson.' Family: The children, aged 13, 11 and seven-year-old twins, are now staying with their grandparents . With Mummy: Hours before her death, Shaniel was making playdate plans with a friend on Facebook . Mr Donaldson appears to have written on a Facebook photo of his family just hours before pulling the trigger. 'This was when I was 60 lbs heavier but that is ok,' he wrote in the early hours of Sunday. 'I still love the family pic.' His wife, believed to be a nurse, was . also using the site before her death, telling one friend she would call . her in the morning as they made plans to play with the Donaldsons' new . puppy. Drolc said that the deaths have been ruled an apparent murder-suicide, pending autopsies. Scene: A SWAT team found the bodies in the home's master bedroom, which can be seen top left . Court records show that Mrs Donaldson Shaniel filed a cohabitant abuse case against her husband in 2005. The case was dismissed just days later, the Tribune reported. According to the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative, between 2003 and 2008, a third of domestic violence homicide suspects killed themselves after murdering their partners . They often had a history of domestic violence, access to a gun, had previously made threats, and had poor mental health or substance abuse issues. 92.6 percent of the suspects were men.
dead. David Scott Donaldson, 37, apparently shot his wife, Shaniel Kaye Donaldson, 32, multiple times at their home in Price, Utah early on Their four children, all pictured, were also in had been struggling with depression and deteriorating physical health, while relatives Donaldson.' Family: The children, aged 13, 11 and