State police say the Cross River man who killed his family and himself last week wrote several letters that indicated he was suicidal shortly before the killings. State police say Sam Friedlander wrote two hand-written letters addressed to family members. He left a third behind at his Bedford law office, where he worked alone. The notes indicated he was about to take his own life, but there were no hints that he would also kill his family, police say. Investigators say Friedlander was taking prescription drugs to treat depression, anxiety, insomnia and high blood pressure. The troubled lawyer was in the middle of a divorce from his wife, Amy, when he bludgeoned her to death in the early hours of Oct. 18. Police say he then shot his two young children as they slept in their beds before turning the 12-gauge shotgun on himself.

Police: Murder-suicide gun bought in YonkersCustody battle might have caused Cross River tragedy Gruesome details emerge on murder-suicide in Cross River