© The Associated Press/St. Croix County Sheriff's Office
Aaron Schaffhausen
River Falls, Wisconsin - A man suspected of killing his three young daughters contacted their mother out of the blue, asked to see them and later called her back to say he had hurt them, police said Wednesday.
Aaron Schaffhausen, 34, turned himself in to River Falls police late Tuesday afternoon. He was being held on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide, city administrator Scot Simpson said Wednesday. Formal charges are pending and it was unclear whether Schaffhausen had an attorney.
Officers discovered the bodies of 11-year-old Amara Schaffhausen, 8-year-old Sophie Schaffhausen and 5-year-old Cecilia Schaffhausen on Tuesday after their mother called the city police, Simpson said. Jessica Schaffhausen said she had received a phone call from her ex-husband that made her concerned for the safety of their children, he said.
A marriage announcement in The (Springfield, Ill.)
State Journal-Register shows Aaron Schaffhausen and Jessica Schaffhausen married in 2000. Court records indicate they divorced in Wisconsin this past January.
Police Chief Roger Leque said during a news conference Wednesday that Aaron Schaffhausen lived in Minot, North Dakota. He contacted his ex-wife on Tuesday and asked for an unplanned visit with the girls.
Jessica Schaffhausen, who wasn't home, agreed. Her ex-husband arrived at the River Falls home the girls shared with their mother and the children's baby sitter left, Leque said.
