On Friday, at 10:10 a.m., Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in 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, 43.
Prior to calling law enforcement the woman drove back to the home where she found the home on fire and saw at least one deceased person inside prior to exiting the house.
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 — 10-year-old Kailani Vasquez and Kaeden Vasquez, 13. Deputies say the children died of “homicidal violence.”
Police say 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.
A GoFundMe page says, “On April 10th, two beautiful children were taken from this world tragically. Their father was not in his right state of mind and took their life and his. We are still in shock and unable to comprehend why this happened. Losing a child is one of the deepest sorrows a mother can know. Kailani, 10 years old was a goofball and full of joy, she always had a smile on her face was a great helper and loved to cook. Kaeden, 13 was super smart, he was sweet and in honor roll and loved to draw and create comic books.
Mom was not prepared for this, no one is ever prepared for this. This Gofund me has been set up for this unexpected financial cost on mom and will go towards all funeral expenses for the children. With the pandemic that is going on, mom is without work. If family and friends can please support mom through this tragic loss. Every little bit helps. We also ask for your prayers as mom just lost everything dear to her. We thank everyone in advance for your donation, we would appreciate it very much.”
