Two parents and a child were found dead in a New Jersey apartment building on Christmas in what officials say appears to be a murder-suicide.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said Michael Stasko, 53, fatally shot his wife Melissa Stasko, 49, and their 8-year-old daughter Mellie Stasko before turning the gun on himself.

The shootings occurred in the couple's bedroom at a luxury high rise apartment in Edgewater, New Jersey, where presents were still sitting under a Christmas tree, Molinelli told a news conference Friday night.

"We don't know why he shot his wife and daughter," Molinelli said. "It does not appear that they tried to defend themselves. They were both lying in the bed when it happened and they might have both been sleeping."

Police received a call just after 7 p.m. ET on Christmas from a Missouri man concerned that his sister had not arrived for the holiday. When police checked on the woman, they found the three bodies, which had been lying dead in the same bed for more than a day.

Autopsies will be performed Friday night into Saturday.