The parents of two Thornton Creek Elementary students were experiencing financial and marital difficulties, but Novi police said Friday they don't know what prompted the homicides Friday of the young boys and their mother.

“I honestly cannot speculate on (a motive)," Police Chief David Molloy said. "From the information I’ve received, it’s the act of a madman."

Six-year-old Tynan Schons and 4-year-old Camden Schons, were found dead along with their mother, Jennifer Schons, in their Novi home shortly before noon Friday. Police suspect they were killed by their father, Mark Schons.

In a news conference Friday evening, Novi police would not elaborate on how the boys were killed.

Soon after finding the bodies at the family's home on Applebrooke Drive in Novi, Novi police issued an alert on Mark Schons and the vehicles he drove.

Oakland County Sheriff's officers found Mark Schons dead in a commercial South Lyon parking lot at 2:24 p.m. He was in his vehicle, "an apparent suicide," according to officials. Police found weapons in the vehicle at the lot, which was near Milford Road and Interstate 96.

The boys didn't go to school Friday and Jennifer Schons missed an appointment to meet with friends, rousing a friend's suspicions. The friend of the family then called police.

Novi Police went into the home with Jennifer Schons' sister. They found all three of the bodies in separate bedrooms of the house.

Both boys attended Thornton Creek, Tynan as a first-grader and Camden a pre-kindergarten student. Jennifer Schons, 38, was a paint engineer at General Motors, where she has worked since August 1996, according to her LinkedIn professional profile. It also says that she earned her master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York in 2003 and prior to that she attended Western Michigan University from 1990 to 1995 where she earned her B.S. in engineering.

Molloy said Jennifer and Mark Schons had filed for bankruptcy and were considering divorce. Mark Schons owned a party store in Howell that went out of business. He was also a computer programmer in the greater Lansing area, Molloy said.

All of the victims were taken to the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies to be conducted Saturday.

Canton Patch Editor Peg McNichol contributed to this report.

Editor's note: Police Chief David Molloy's name was misspelled in an early  version of this story.