Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early told reporters that the “bright little girl” led officers to the house, where they found her father, 42-year-old Michael Sugarman, who was still alive and is expected to be charged in connection with the death of the girl’s mother, 36-year-old Kelly Sugarman.

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The woman had been strangled and beaten, authorities later said.

“We don’t know at this point what the girl did see or did not see,” Early said at a news conference, according to the Boston Herald.

On Thursday, Michael Sugarman appeared in Westborough District Court dressed in a hospital gown and pleaded not guilty to assault and battery, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors said they plan to charge him with murder.

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Although the motive is unclear, authorities told the news agency that it appears the couple had been fighting about their finances.

“The couple had been facing severe financial difficulties, and that had been the source of arguments and fights between the two,” prosecutor Terry McLaughlin told the court, according to CBS Boston.

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McLaughlin said Sugarman, who had stopped taking his medications, killed his wife then tried to kill himself, according to the station.

Neighbors said Sugarman worked in construction and Kelly Sugarman was a stay-at-home mom, according to ABC affiliate WCVB.

Authorities said in a statement that Grafton police officer Thomas Michniewicz spotted the girl walking along the side of Worcester Street.

“She was just running and there was no parents around, no adults around,” Jackie Costello, a neighbor, told WCVB. “I didn’t know if she was running from one house to another, so I just watched her for a little bit and nobody came out.”

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Authorities said the family had not been in the home very long, so police had to work with the small girl to find out where she lived.

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When they arrived, they stumbled upon the grisly scene.

“The officer observed a man on the floor of house’s kitchen with what appeared to be a knife protruding from his neck,” police said in a statement. Kelly Sugarman, the statement said, was “deceased on the floor in her bedroom.”

“Keeping in mind we are early in the investigation, the appropriate charges will be forthcoming,” Early, the district attorney, said in the statement.

Authorities said Michael Sugarman was taken to a nearby hospital.

The 5-year-old girl was also taken to a hospital for evaluation, then released to the Department of Children and Families.

Kenneth Kleaka, 37, from Long Island, N.Y., said he grew up across the street from Kelly Sugarman and called her family.

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“It is so hard to say this but my old neighbor who is pretty much my little sister passed away this morning,” he wrote Wednesday on Facebook. “Kelly Sugarman, I can’t believe anyone (sic) of this is true, I want to wake up. Please let me wake up.”

He added: “This is one of the hardest things I have ever gone thru, I love you sis.”

Kleaka told The Washington Post on Friday that they grew up in Whitesboro, N.Y., and have remained close over the years. He said the two were supposed to see each other on Easter, but Michael Sugarman had a health issue. He did not elaborate.

“Every time you saw them together, they were the happiest family you’ve ever seen,” he said. “It’s a big shock.”

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Kleaka has set up a GoFundMe page for the girl, who “will need as much support as me and my family will right now,” he said, talking about how close she was to her mother.

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“You couldn’t separate those two,” he told The Post. “They were pretty much inseparable. You’d always see her crawl behind her mom and hold onto her. It sucks. It’s tough.”

Kleaka said he was not sure whether the girl is still with the Department of Children and Families or whether she has been turned over to family members. He said Kelly Sugarman’s parents are in Massachusetts dealing with their daughter’s death.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “We’re going to miss her.”

This story has been updated.