A mother found her two young boys dead in a Spruce Grove, Alta., home in an apparent murder-suicide at the hands of their father, the boys' stepfather says.

The boys, age 11 and 13, were found dead in the home Monday morning when their mother and stepfather arrived to take them home to Whitecourt for the holidays, the boys' stepfather, Brent Stark, told CBC News.

"We both showed up to the home and a coward of a father took his life and his two boys' lives," Stark said.

RCMP confirmed three people were found dead after police responded to a 911 call at 2 Haney Ct. in the Hilldowns neighbourhood of Spruce Grove, west of Edmonton, around 10:30 a.m.

Police said they aren't looking for anyone in relation to the deaths, and don't have anyone in custody. They have not released the names of the deceased. Autopsies are scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Sgt. Jack Poitras wouldn't say if RCMP are investigating the incident as a murder-suicide.

"I don't want to speculate," Poitras said. "It speaks volumes when we are not looking for anyone in regards to this at this time."

The boys' stepfather said Radek and Ryder MacDougall were killed in the home by their father, Corry MacDougall, who then took his own life.

Stark said he arrived at the home around 9:30 a.m. with his wife, Tracy, the mother of the boys.

The couple called 911 after knocking on the front door window.

"You go knock on a door and you see the legs of one of your boys laying on the ground, things don't go too well from there," Stark said.

The family will now spend the holidays planning their funeral, he said.

Stark said the boys played hockey in Spruce Grove.

"Great kids, young boys, good-looking boys," Stark said.

"Big hearts, that's all you can say. Great kids growing up, they're on top of the world and some f--king coward took it from them."

'Just completely disturbing'

Mike Lodge lives two doors away from the home where the boys and their father were found dead.

He was coming home around 10:20 Monday morning when he saw the couple pounding on the door of the home.

"She was just completely distraught — destroyed," he said. "Crying, screaming very loudly, pounding on the door. She was talking to somebody either on the phone or to her husband, I'm assuming, that she was with. Just continuing to try to get inside the home, I guess."

Lodge said he saw the woman's partner trying to kick the door in. A neighbour from across the street asked why they were trying to get into the home, he said.

"She said … 'He killed my babies,'" Lodge said. "And she started screaming at him, at the neighbour, and the neighbour walked away, because she actually said, 'Look in the door, you can see my baby dead on the floor.'"

Lodge said he called 911 and police officers showed up at the home shortly after.

He said the man who lived in the home had been renting it for a year and a half or two years.

On Monday evening, the Christmas tree remained lit in the home, visible through the back windows.

Lodge, who has two children of his own, said he could see it from his yard.

"It's just completely disturbing to think that anything like this could happen," Lodge said.

"The fact that there's a mother out there with two slain children … that she's not going to get to see and definitely not going to spend the holidays with, is just a horrible, horrible fact."