A man who once said he was living his dream through his son shot and killed the teen and the boy's mother before killing himself Monday, police said.
Mario Morales Sr., 35, his estranged wife, Stephanie, 34, and their 16-year-old son, Dario, were found by a relative, said Sgt. Diana Lopez, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman.
The death of the three was the result of a murder-suicide, the Tucson Police Department said.
Police were called to a home in the 3300 block of North Flowing Wells Road at 5:20 p.m. Monday, Lopez said.
Detectives learned Mario and Stephanie Morales had recently separated and were living in separate homes, Lopez said.
The son, Dario Morales, an aspiring amateur boxer, was profiled in the Star's Spanish-language section, La Estrella, in 2007. The boy, then 13 years old, said he wanted to win a few world titles, then retire from boxing to become a dentist.
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"It's a sad day for young fighters," Dario's former trainer, Roger Woods, said Tuesday. "You hate to hear things like this."
Woods first began working with Dario when he was 11, but a strained relationship with Dario's father led Dario and Woods to part ways, Woods said.
Dario was never able to please his father, who often questioned the opponents his son was pitted against as well as Woods' training methods, Woods said.
"Dario was a good kid. He listened to his father; he would do what his father told him to do," Woods said. But Mario Morales "was smothering him so much. His mind wasn't right. There was something mentally not right with that guy," Woods said.
In 2007, Mario Morales told La Estrella that Dario was "a calm and quiet boy. I am living my dream through him."
Dario, who turned 16 last week, was a model student at Flowing Wells High School, district Superintendent Nic Clement said.
"He was part of each class in a unique way," Clement said. "His teachers are devastated."
A memorial was set up at the high school to remember Dario, a sophomore. Counselors were brought in to help students and faculty members grieve, Clement said.
Police found two handguns, cartridge casings and ammunition when they searched the home, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Superior Court.
Attempts by the Star to reach family members on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
