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Great-Grandmother Of Children Stabbed To Death: 'Babies Don't Need To Die'

FALCON, Colo. (CBS4)- The great-grandmother of the children killed in Falcon are struggling to understand what happened just one day after their bodies were found.

Police said both children were stabbed to death by their mother's boyfriend, Ethan Courrau, before he killed himself. They don't have a motive for the crime.

El Paso County deputies responded before midnight Wednesday to 9550 East Woodmen Road, along Highway 24 northeast of Colorado Springs.

When deputies arrived they found 1-year-old Scarlett Gallagher stabbed to death.

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Scarlett Gallagher (credit: CBS)

Her brother Ryan Willhite was taken to the hospital, also with stab wounds, but he later died. Willhite was 3 at the time of the crime and his 4th birthday would have been Feb. 26.

Ima Jean Willhite misses her great-grandson, Ryan, "As a little boy he was very active. I loved him to death."

She has been struggling to understand why someone would kill the siblings.

"Why did it happen? Babies don't need to die," said Willhite.

Their mother, Katie Kane, returned home after leaving Courrau, 22, with the children while she went to the store. That's when she discovered her entire family dead.

Officials with the El Paso County Sheriff's Department said they are continuing to investigate what happened. The crime apparently happened in the trailer on the property, which also includes run down farm buildings and horse facilities.

Willhite said she only met Courrau once and didn't know much about him.

Courrau's parents released this statement: "There are so many unanswered questions of which we may never know the answers. Ethan struggled with being bipolar, and as his parents we actively helped him seek medical treatment."

Willhite said Ryan was a gentle soul who drew her a lot of pictures, "He just loved flowers."

Ryan loved flowers so much that his family installed a garden in the backyard just for him. They said now they will plant roses in the garden in his honor.

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