'You can come home now... I killed the kids': Chilling phone call made by dad of three to his ex-wife after stabbing daughters to death



Girls were found each tucked up in her own bed, dried blood on her face

Blood covered the carpet in their bedroom

Their estranged father has been charged with their murder

A father-of-three faces life in prison after launching a savage attack on his girls, stabbing all three of them in the neck at their home.



Aaron Schaffhausen, 34, showed up for a surprise visit on Tuesday, thrilling his daughters Amara, 11, Sophie, 8, and Cecilia, 5, who dragged him upstairs to show him their toys.



Several hours later his ex-wife Jessica received the chilling phone call: 'You can [come] home now because I killed the kids.'

Horror: Amara Schaffhausen (center), 11, Sophie Schaffhausen (left), 8, and Cecilia Schaffhausen (right), 5, were found dead in their home and their father is charged with killing them during an unexpected visit Charged: Aaron Schaffhausen, right, appears with his public defender John Kucinski via teleconference from jail for his initial court appearance

Charged: Lawyers for Schaffhausen, 35, of Minot, North Dakota,initially tried to say that he was insane at the time of the triple murders but the court overruled that ploy

All three of her young daughters were found, each in tucked up in her own bed, dried blood on her face.

Autopsy results showed that the three girls died from 'sharp force injury' to the neck. The youngest child, Cecilia, had also been strangled, according to a criminal complaint.

Court records show the mother, Jessica Schaffhausen, and Aaron Schaffhausen divorced this past January. He lived in Minot, North Dakota while the girls lived with their mother in River Falls, Wisconsin, in a house rented from Aaron Schaffhausen, according to a criminal complaint.

Investigators wrote in the complaint that Jessica Schaffhausen thought her ex-husband was working a construction job in Minot when he texted her just before noon Tuesday and asked for an unplanned visit with the girls. He had recently been fired.



The mother agreed, despite him previously making threats on her life, but told him to be gone by mid-afternoon because she didn't want to see him.

Distraught: Girls from Amara Schaffhausen's traveling soccer team cry during a vigil at Glen Park in River Falls, Wisconsin

After their deaths, the community rallied together to construct a playground that memorialized the three girls

Jessica says she would have wanted Amara, Sophie, and Cecilia to continue on without her, finding love and making the world a better place had they been without their mother

The girls' baby sitter told detectives the girls were so excited to see him when he arrived they rushed to him and took him upstairs to show him their things. The baby sitter hugged the girls goodbye and left, the complaint said.

About two hours later, Aaron Schaffhausen called his ex-wife.

Mrs Schaffhausen immediately called police, who discovered the grisly scene. The girls' faces were caked in blood, which also covered the carpet in their bedroom.



Officers detected an odor they thought at first was natural gas. They discovered a gasoline container had been tipped over in the basement, spilling its contents.

An hour after he contacted his ex-wife, Aaron Schaffhausen drove into the River Falls Police Station parking lot and surrendered. Officers noted his shorts were stained with what appeared to be blood. Detectives tried to interview him but he said nothing, according to the complaint.

Jessica says that it is the memory of her girls that keeps her going

Jessica Peterson has faith that her three daughters, Amara, Sophie, and Cecilia, are at peace Grieving: A woman and children pay their respects at a memorial at Greenwood Elementary School the slain girls Officials within the local community were shocked by the news of the girls deaths.

River Falls City Administrator Scot Simpson said: 'Well this is a tragedy for our community. 'It's a small close knit community and obviously it has a wide impact when something like this happens so really our reaction is we are saddened by what has happened.' Efforts are being made to organize support services for community members dealing with the deaths, with vigils taking place around the neighbourhood. Aaron Schaffhausen, 34, of Minot, North Dakota, faces three counts of first-degree intentional homicide after Amara Schaffhausen, 11, Sophie Schaffhausen, 8, and Cecilia Schaffhausen, 5, were found tucked in their beds dead at the home they shared with their mother in River Falls on Tuesday. The father's bail was set at $2million on Thursday and ordered him to have no contact with the girls' mother or her immediate family. Each count Schaffhausen is charged with carries a mandatory life sentence. Distressing: The girls' bike are a poignant reminder of the young lives lost