Megan Cassidy, and Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

The custody plan laid out for Jerad Arismendez was essentially standard for a divorced American father.

He was to care for his daughters, 5-year-old Audrey and 4-year-old Ariah, every other weekend and every other holiday. On his birthday and Father’s Day, he would have them every year.

The blueprint was penned in August by the girls’ mother, Carmen Castillo. While she expressed reservations about “unrestricted” contact between her ex-husband and daughters, there was little in court records that could have predicted the tragedy that unfolded between the three Sunday evening.

Phoenix police discovered the bodies of Audrey and 36-year-old Jerad at a home on the 9400 block of West Elwood Street after responding to a welfare check by the girls’ mother. Ariah died soon after at a hospital.

Police are calling the incident a murder-suicide and said a firearm was involved.

Court records show Carmen filed and received an order of protection against Jerad in June, amid divorce proceedings that finalized in August. The two had been married for 16 years.

The order-of-protection filing offers a chilling glimpse of the family in retrospect, alleging “violent tendencies” and obsessive behavior on the part of Jerad.

But Carmen never alleged her ex would harm the children intentionally. When drafting her custody agreement, she proposed “reasonable restrictions” with the girls.

Family members, including Carmen, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Order of protection, restricted visits

Carmen wrote that she filed the order of protection because Jerad was “continually calling and harassing” her, according to court documents.

In one instance, Carmen said Jerad drove to her house and insisted that she come outside. Carmen said he left after she threatened to call police, but later messaged her that he wasn’t scared of judges or the police.

“He lives 1 minute away from me and can come over to ‘take care of me’ whenever,” she wrote, adding that he called her up to 50 times a day. “I fear for my safety as he has violent tendencies.”

In another, Carmen alleged that Jerad held her in a "choke hold" while she was getting ready for work and wouldn’t let her go. Carmen said Jerad took away her personal and work phones to prevent her from calling police.

“He threatened harm if I tried to leave because ‘he can’t live without us,’ ” she wrote.

Phoenix court records show Jerad faced charges of assault and criminal damage in 2013, but that the charges were dismissed by the court. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to two separate charges of disorderly conduct in Avondale.

Carmen’s filings indicate she feared for her safety, but she never wrote that Jerad directly threatened the children.

In the parenting plan filing, Carmen focused on Jerad’s way of life and how it could affect the girls.

“Unrestricted parenting time by Jerad Arismendez would seriously endanger the children’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health,” she wrote.

Jerad was a heavy drinker, she said, and would drink and drive with the girls in his care. Carmen also questioned his choice in roommates, and said he did not administer background or drug tests for those living at his home.

Still, Carmen did not request supervised visits between Jerad and the girls, and asked only that “reasonable restrictions” be ordered. Among them: Jerad was not to drink during visits, and must run background checks and drug screenings on people living in his home.

Jerad did not respond to the petition in court, meaning the order would have defaulted to Carmen’s request.

A well-known family among boxers

The family is known in Arizona’s tight-knit boxing community – boxer and Olympic hopeful Ariel Arismendez is Audrey and Ariah’s older sister.

The girls’ cousin, Maira Garcia, created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the girls’ family. It was shared more than 5,600 times and raised more than $12,300 in less than 24 hours.

MORE: Phoenix-area boxing community rallies to help family of slain girls

Sonny Gutierrez, owner of Sonny's Boxing Gym in Goodyear where Ariel used to train, posted on Facebook encouraging people to donate to the GoFundMe or to drop off food and drink donations for the family at the gym.

"This is one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with is getting this news today," he wrote. "I was very close to this family for more than 10 years and seen these beautiful little girls regularly."

Palm Valley Elementary School's PTO posted that "our Thunderbird family lost one of our littlest Thunderbirds last night."

"A letter went home with all kindergarteners today. We only spoke to students in Mrs. Bianchi's class, however, if your child is struggling we do have our school Psychologist, Dr. Elliott available to speak with any student who may be having a difficult time or needing more support. We will sharing information as the family makes it available," the PTO posted.

Police: Phoenix man kills daughters, ages 4 and 5, then self

Where to call for help

There are an array of local and national groups available to help anyone who may be in an abusive relationship or may be contemplating suicide: