Autopsy results show that a 14-year-old Staten Island boy wasn't responsible for killing his family. Instead, police say the evidence points towards the child's mother, whose death was ruled a suicide. According to the medical examiner, the boy and his two younger sisters had their throats slashed and did not show signs of smoke inhalation, which suggests they were dead before the house was set on fire. Neighbors are baffled by the deaths.

Christine Valentin says she used to teach the kids about gardening and never saw their mother, Leisa Jones, depressed. Valentin remember the kids always looking well cared for. "They were clean, they were neat, respectful. You never saw her strike them," Valentin says. "You never heard her raise her voice. It's like you read it in the paper you've seen it happen on TV but when it happens to someone you know, it's unbelievable."

The city says Jones was never involved in a child welfare investigation. While most of her neighborhors remember her as friendly and polite, and her children as well-behaved, at least one store owner remembers seeing her looking stressed and overwhelmed by her kids. Ahmed Aziz owns Port Richmond Emporium, a deli and supermarket that's a few blocks away from where the Jones family lived. He says once Jones came in and had no money on her food stamp benefit card. In another incident, "One of the kids ripped a candy off the shelf, and she didn't have the money to pay for it. I let her have it," Aziz says.

A Port Richmond social service agency that runs a soup kitchen, food pantry and emergency shelter says the family never came in for help. Reverend Terry Troia, of Project Hospitality, says isolation and the shame of asking for assistance can lead a family to desperation. The non-profit, along with other groups, is planning a community meeting to help people identify when a family may be in crisis. Troia says it's important for people to know what numbers they can call and who they can reach out to on behalf of neighbors, or themselves. "Before reaching such a critical moment in a person's life as to take one's own life and the life of one's own family," Troia says.

Funeral arrangements are still pending for the family. Police say there is no evidence that anyone else was involved.