Officers were called Monday night by a relative who discovered Hope Orwick dead inside her home along with daughters Emily, 9, and Lindsey, 8.

A family friend told The Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville that Orwick's husband had died about three years ago and that she was still struggling with the loss.

Beth Denham said Orwick had withdrawn from her circle of friends since her husband's death and their attempts to "reach her" had been unsuccessful.

"I would just want people to know that she loved her children, but I think she missed her husband," Denham told the newspaper.

The Jefferson County coroner's office said Orwick apparently stabbed her two daughters and then shot herself.