Four persons found dead in West Des Moines home, all with gunshot wounds

WEST DES MOINES – Police in West Des Moines say the four people were found dead in a home there Saturday morning.

West Des Moines police are releasing more information related to the death investigation in the 900 block of 65^th Street. They now confirm the deaths of four people inside the home. Chandrasekhar Sunkara, 44 years old; Lavanya Sunkara, 41 years old; a 15 year old boy and a 10 year old boy were pronounced dead at the scene. All four lived in the home.

Autopsies will be performed at a later date and will determine the cause of death for each person. Police did, however, report apparent gunshot wounds to each.

“This tragedy will impact family, friends, co-workers, anyone that new this family” said Sergeant Dan Wade. “We are continuing to work through this investigation. We will follow through until we have answered as many questions as the evidence allows. We are confident, though, that there is no continuing threat to the community.”

Police say other family members, two adults and two children, were staying as guests. When the victims were discovered, one of the survivors ran outside looking for help. He found someone walking through the neighborhood and that person called 911.

The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation is processing the scene as West Des Moines detectives continue their investigation.