Friends say a woman wanted to end her marriage before her husband murdered her and their three kids inside a Phoenix home on Wednesday.

According to investigators, 44-year-old Jasen Michael Hudgens killed his wife, 40-year-old Marla Jordan Hudgens, and their three kids, 3-year-old Christopher Hudgens and 6-month-old twins Gwen and Faye. Jasen then shot himself in the head.

Marla worked at the Phoenix branch of the law firm Lewis Roca. The company released a statement, calling her a passionate lawyer and advocate for her clients. “More than that, she was a loving mother and loyal friend,” Lewis Roca said.

Friends say one of the most heartbreaking things was learning Marla struggled with infertility and was overjoyed bringing her three babies into the world. But her friends said their marriage had become unhappy, though they could never have imagined something like this would happen. “There’s so many of us right now that don’t know how we are going to go on without her,” said her best friend, Khanh Andersen. “She had a professional confidence that I admired so much,” added her best friend, Brett Hagerty.

Andersen and Hagerty said they had just talked to Marla Tuesday night, planning upcoming concerts and cruises together, with no inkling that anything was about to happen. “What do you mean all of them? Like what do you mean all of them?” said Andersen. “We knew that that marriage was likely ending,” added Hagerty.

Hagerty said it was Marla who wanted to end their marriage, but they never thought Jasen was violent. “We never had any indication from her that she felt scared or threatened or unsafe,” said Hagerty.

This comes as Marla was dealing with another tragedy in her life. “Her sister had just died by suicide just two months ago. We literally just had Lexa’s celebration of life on Friday,” said Andersen. “Her sister’s memorial was last Friday and Jasen didn’t go,” Hagerty added.

While there may have been some strife in the marriage, both Andersen and Hagerty struggle to understand – why the kids? And even more so because the Hudgens’ struggled with infertility for years. Marla’s young kids were absolutely everything to her. “She did everything she could to bring them into existence,” said Hagerty.

“She called them her hot dog and her hamburger because one was long and skinny and one was short and round,” Andersen said, laughing. “To think of her babies, and how they won’t even get to know how big of a person their mother was and they won’t get to experience it all because they didn’t get enough time either, it’s just too much.”

A preliminary police report says the babysitter arrived at the home on Augusta Avenue, near 7th and Northern avenues, just after 8 a.m. and saw Jasen and Marla dead. Multiple police officers and firefighters were then dispatched to the home. Because of a strong odor of gas, a hazmat crew cleared the house first. Police say there were open propane tanks inside and a gas line that was not attached to a kitchen appliance. It took hours for crews to secure the house and get rid of the gas so police could get inside safely. Detectives then discovered all the bodies.

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