Tormented final days of mum who shot husband and two kids as tragic last promise revealed

A mother who fatally shot her terminally ill husband, two young children and thenherself in a horrific murder-suicide opened up about her desperate struggles in her dark final days.

Police responded to a chilling 911 call on Monday night reporting multiple fatalities at a property in Madbury, New Hampshire, US. When they arrived, detectives discovered an unimaginable scene inside the family home.

Emily Long, 34, who was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, killed her husband, Ryan Long, 48, and two children, Parker, 8, and Ryan, 6, according to the autopsy findings. A firearm was found near their bodies.

The couple's three-year-old boy,the only survivor,was found unharmed inside the residence. It appears that the orphaned toddler was left alone in the house of horrors for many hours after the shootings. He is now said to be in the care of relatives as the family are ripped apart by tragedy.

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Just two days before the shootings, Emily posted an alarming TikTok video where she spoke about her struggles coping with her husband's ill-health. Ryan was diagnosed with terminal glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

In her final video, the troubled Influencer told her nearly 8,000 followers that her children were "definitely struggling" with her husband's diagnosis, but she remained detirmined to improving her own mental health.

The mum made a tragic final promise to her family as she declared: "Today I decided I need to make a conscious effort to shift my mindset. I'm getting out of this depression whether I want to or not."

"I am determined to create normalcy. I'm trying to get myself out of the rut, our kids are definitely struggling, and now I'm starting to notice some changes in our 3-year-old.

In separate videos, she spoke about the grief of having to tell her children that Ryan's diagnosis was terminal. She explained that her two eldest children understood the condition, and the outcome, more thoroughly than their youngest child.

On May 11, Emily uploaded a video captioned: "Want to watch someone actually fall apart before your very eyes? I swear, this cancer will be the thing that breaks me.'"

Authorities have since released autopsy results confirming Emily shot her husband multiple times, each child once in the head and finally herself.

Investigators said they have since learned of concerns and ongoing issues at the time of the violent rampage, but didn't elaborate.

"Based upon the information available at this time, it appears that in the early morning hours of Monday, August 18, 2025, Ms. Long took a handgun from the home and caused the deaths of Ryan Long and her two children, Parker and Ryan, and then took her own life immediately thereafter," the medical examiner told the Daily Mail.

"While investigators are becoming aware of various concerns/issues ongoing in the household at the time of the event in question, people should avoid speculating that this event was caused by a single reason or stressor."

Meanwhile, Assistant Attorney General Ben Agatitold WCAX: "One of the biggest questions they have right now is motive, why?".

Neighbours expressed their shock, describing the Longs as "a perfect family". “It was a perfect family as far as we knew,” neighbour Bevy Ketel toldWBZ-TV. “It’s just shocking. We didn’t see it coming.”

Long was a psychologist at Oyster River Middle School in Durham, while Emily worked as director of operations at restaurant chain Wing-Itz.

The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.