“Hernando County Sheriff Update — Murder- Suicide – Dunkirk Road – Spring Hill”

“Hernando County Sheriff Update — Murder-Suicide – Dunkirk Road – Spring Hill”

Date: April 14, 2020

Update

An autopsy has been completed on all three individuals who were found deceased inside a Spring Hill home on 4-10-2020.

The male suspect, Derick Albert Vasquez W/M DOB/06-11-1976, died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was also severely burned on the lower half of his body from a fire he intentionally set prior to shooting himself.

The two children, a boy and a girl, died as a result of being shot by Vasquez.

Original Information

On 04-10-2020 at 10:10 a.m., Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on the 9400 block of Dunkirk Road in Spring Hill in reference to a house fire with deceased individuals inside.

A woman, who was initially out of town, had called 911 after receiving a suicidal text from an acquaintance living at the Dunkirk Road residence.

That individual has been identified as Derick Albert Vasquez W/M DOB/06-11-1976.

Prior to calling law enforcement the woman drove back to the residence where she found the home on fire and saw at least one deceased person inside prior to exiting the residence.

The first deputy on scene entered the structure, but was forced to exit after becoming overwhelmed by the smoke. Other deputies and Hernando County Fire Rescue soon entered the structure where they located three deceased individuals inside the residence.

The fire, which was confined to a particular area of the house, was quickly extinguished.

There was one adult male who was positively identified as Vasquez and two children, a boy and girl, who were found deceased. The names of the children, who died as a result of homicidal violence, are not being released due to Marsy’s Law.

The preliminary investigation reveals that Vasquez died as a result of committing suicide after killing the children.

The Medical Examiner’s Office and the Fire Marshal’s Office responded to assist with the investigation. Records show there was one previous call for service at the residence dated March 22 regarding a verbal disturbance.

The investigation remains active and no additional details are available at this time.