SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Police say two children found dead along with their father after a 23-hour standoff at a Missouri apartment likely died before officers arrived.

Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams said during a news conference Tuesday that the children were fatally shot by their father, William Williams.

Police say the father was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound when police entered the apartment in Springfield after the standoff, which began late Sunday and ended around 9 p.m. Monday.

The chief said the suspect talked to negotiators about his 4-year-old son, Brodie, and 2-year-old daughter, Marley, but never said they were dead.

He says investigators may never know the motive. A local attorney says William Williams and his wife were divorcing and working on a custody plan for the children.

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SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Police in Missouri said they found a man and his two young children dead when officers made entry into a Springfield apartment to end a nearly 24-hour standoff.

The Springfield Police Department said in a statement late Monday that a man inside the home appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His son and daughter, ages 4 and 2, were also found dead inside.

A Springfield police spokeswoman said she could not provide additional information about how the children died. No one else was inside the home.

The standoff began when police responded around 9:30 p.m. Sunday to the apartment on the southwest side of town.

Officers encountered an armed man and set up a perimeter. Negotiations with the man continued until police breached the door Monday evening.