Woman, Two Children Dead in NE DC

D.C. Police say a woman and two children were killed Saturday in what may have been a domestic dispute.

According to investigators, neighbors reported a disturbance at the apartment building, which is located on Maryland Avenue in Northeast Washington. When they arrived, officers forced their way in and discovered the bodies. They also found a 2-year-old girl, but they say she had not been hurt.

Distraught family members gathered outside the crime scene after police arrived. The loss, for many of them, was nearly impossible to understand.

While the names of the victims were not immediately released, relatives told FOX 5 that the woman is 36-year-old Erica Harper Peters, and her two sons, Dakota and Eric, were the children involved. They said the toddler who survived is named Ashley, and according to those relatives, man taken to the hospital with injuries is the little girl's father.

Police would not say whether the man was a suspect.

According to family members, the relationship between the two children found dead in the home and the man was troubled.

"It always hits you hard," said Louie Thomas, the uncle. "You pick up the paper, and you read about a family killed, like those two out of Largo. But when it hits your home, it's a different story. It really hurts.

According to Chief Cathy Lanier, city officials are trying to determine whether or not social services had previously visited the apartment.

The woman who was found dead was part of the deaf ministry at Greater Mount Calvary Church in Northeast D.C.