Police said a family member found four bodies in a townhouse and called 911.
Woodbridge, Va. — A 35-year-old woman is believed to have fatally stabbed her husband, her mother-in-law and her 2-year-old son inside a Woodbridge townhouse before she died, Prince William County police said. Officers were dispatched to Vale Court at about 8:05 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21.
The case has shaken a tight rowhouse neighborhood and left investigators trying to piece together what happened inside a home where three generations lived. Police said autopsies found all four people died from knife injuries and that the weapon believed to have been used was recovered. Officials have not released a motive, and they said key details remain under investigation.
Police said the call for help did not come from a neighbor who heard shouting or from a passerby who saw trouble outside. Instead, investigators said, the child’s grandfather went to the home in the 3400 block of Vale Court and discovered the bodies. He called 911, and officers arrived to find four people dead: two adult women, an adult man and a child. The deaths were later classified by police as an apparent murder-suicide based on the initial evidence and the relationships among the people in the home.
In a public update released Monday, police identified the victims as Danxiong Gao, 40, and his mother, Kegang Xie, 69. Police said Gao’s 2-year-old son also died but would not be publicly named because of his age. Police identified Gao’s wife, Ziyi Lu, 35, as the presumed suspect and said she also died at the scene. Authorities did not describe the child’s final moments, where each person was found, or the order of the attacks. They also did not say whether the deaths happened late Friday, overnight, or closer to the time the grandfather arrived Saturday morning.
Col. Peter Newsham, the Prince William County police chief, said the loss was hard to put into words. He described the incident as the worst kind of nightmare for a family and for the officers who responded. Newsham said the surviving relative, the child’s grandfather, had been in the basement during the killings and later found the victims upstairs. Newsham said the man was distraught but has been cooperative with detectives as they work to establish a timeline and to learn what, if anything, led to the violence.
On Vale Court, the news spread in small bursts, from phone alerts to conversations across doorways. A next-door neighbor told a local station he had seen Gao the night before and had no reason to think anything was wrong. The neighbor said the family had once given his household a baby shower gift and seemed like ordinary neighbors. A friend of Gao’s told local media he went to police headquarters after hearing about the deaths to offer what he knew about the family, then was allowed to see Gao’s father. The friend said he later brought the father home with him so he would not be alone.
Police said the adults used both Chinese names and Americanized first names, a detail that stood out in their public statement as they worked to correctly identify each person. Authorities did not say how long the family had lived in the townhouse, where they worked, or whether they had relatives nearby. Investigators also have not said whether officers had been called to the residence before, whether there had been recent domestic disputes, or whether any court orders were in place. Those details can take time to confirm and are often reviewed as detectives gather records, interview witnesses and check prior police contacts.
What police have said with certainty so far is limited but stark. Officers arrived after a 911 call, found the four dead, and later confirmed through autopsies that each person died from knife injuries. Police said they recovered the weapon believed to have been used. They have not said whether the weapon came from the home or was brought in, whether it was found near any of the victims, or whether forensic testing has been completed. Police also have not said whether they have obtained phone records, messages or other communications that might shed light on the family’s final hours.
The procedural steps now are the slow work that follows a scene like this: evidence processing, interviews, document review and coordination with the medical examiner. Investigators typically seek to confirm timelines through records and witness statements and to rule out any alternative explanations. Police have not announced criminal charges because the presumed suspect is dead, but detectives still must complete the investigation and document their findings. Officials have not said when a final report might be released, or whether additional public briefings are planned.
In the meantime, neighbors and friends have been left with memories and unanswered questions. The friend who spoke publicly described repeated grief after hearing what happened and said Gao’s father was struggling with the idea that nearly his entire immediate family was gone. The next-door neighbor described the deaths as unexpected and sad, saying the family had seemed normal in everyday interactions. Police said they are continuing to speak with the surviving relative and others who knew the family as they try to understand what led up to Saturday morning.
Author note: Last updated February 24, 2026.