A German man killed his wife and three young daughters before taking his own life after he was busted creating a fake COVID vaccine card, authorities said Tuesday.
The man, only identified as Devid R, was found fatally shot alongside his wife and their three girls inside their home in Koenigs Wusterhausen, south of Berlin, on Saturday.
Prosecutors said the 40-year-old man left behind a suicide note that revealed he feared his daughters — ages 4, 8 and 10 — would be taken away from him after the forgery was discovered.
Devid admitted in the note to creating the COVID vaccine card for his wife but her employer later found out it was fake and threatened to alert authorities.
The man feared that both he and his wife would be arrested and they would lose custody of their children, prosecutors said.
Devid’s wife worked for the TH Wildau university, according to the Berliner Kurier newspaper.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Devid did for a living.
Authorities said they discovered the grisly murder-suicide after neighbors saw the family’s shot bodies inside the house through the window.
As of last month, workers in Germany were required to show their employers proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.