Investigators said four relatives were found stabbed inside a home on Vale Court.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Police in Prince William County are investigating the stabbing deaths of three adults and a 2-year-old boy found inside a Woodbridge townhouse on Saturday, in a case authorities described as an apparent murder-suicide.
Officers were called to the 3400 block of Vale Court shortly after 8 a.m., and arrived to find four people dead inside the home. Detectives said the deaths appeared to stem from a domestic incident involving members of the same family, and they were working to confirm the sequence of events and any motive.
Police said investigators believe a 35-year-old woman stabbed three family members, her husband, her mother-in-law and her young son, before killing herself. The victims included two adult family members and the child, along with the presumed suspect, police said. The department said everyone who died was found upstairs, and the injuries were caused by a knife.
Jonathan Perok, a spokesman for the Prince William County Police Department, said the scene was especially difficult for officers and investigators because of the ages of the victims and the type of violence. “The fact it’s all knife wounds makes it even more disturbing,” Perok said during an interview at the scene. He said investigators were still gathering details from inside the home, but added that what officers encountered was “pretty horrific inside.”
Police said one family member survived and helped alert authorities. Investigators said the child’s grandfather, an older man who lived in the basement, was not injured. Police said he was in the basement during the killings and later found the four relatives upstairs, all suffering from stab wounds. Officers were dispatched after a report of a stabbing, and all four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said there was no ongoing threat to neighbors because the violence occurred inside the home. Police also said they did not believe they had previously been called to the residence for problems, though detectives were reviewing available records and interviewing people who knew the family. Investigators said they were looking into whether mental health issues played a role, but emphasized that the inquiry was in its early stages and many details were still unknown.
By Saturday afternoon, the townhouse row on Vale Court had become a quiet focus of police activity. Patrol vehicles blocked access near the home as detectives moved between the front door and marked vehicles, while neighbors watched from sidewalks and driveways. Some residents said they had seen the family only in passing, describing routine waves and brief greetings rather than signs of trouble.
John Corban, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for 27 years, said he was stunned by the news and struggled to understand how the violence unfolded. “This is monstrous,” Corban said. “A woman would do this to her child? I could not imagine this.” He said he could not recall anything similar happening in the area during the decades he has lived there.
Another neighbor, who identified himself only as Josh, said he recognized the family from everyday routines and felt the loss sharply because he and his wife are going through fertility treatments. “To take away a gift like that and your life and your partner’s life is just super tragic,” he said. He said he hoped investigators would eventually learn what led to the deaths, even if the answers would be hard to hear.
Police said the investigation would continue through interviews, evidence processing and medical examiner findings. Detectives said they expected to release additional information once relatives were notified and the victims were formally identified. The office of the medical examiner will determine official causes and manners of death, and police said they would continue examining the timeline inside the home.
Author note: Last updated February 22, 2026.