Photo-Mother & her 5-year-old son found dead with note after long custody battle

A mother and her five-year-old son have been found dead in a murder-suicide after a long custody battle with the baby’s father.

Gina Summers, 46, and her child Jude were found at their home in Orono, Minnesota, US on Monday. A typed and signed note believed to be written by Gina Summers was also found in the home and detailed the “issues with the system and allowing a child to be ripped from his mother,” The Star Tribune reported.

The note ended with: “Don’t let this happen to another child and mother.”

Police were alerted to a problem when father Jeff Sandberg, who had joint custody, tried to contact them to arrange to pick Jude up. On Thursday, Mr Sandberg released a statement through his lawyer saying he is now planning a funeral for his son, a week after spending a family fishing trip with him.

The statement said: “He was getting ready for his first day of Ready Start Kindergarten.”

Mr Sandberg hit back at the allegations in the note, saying Ms Summers “refused to participate in ordered mediation.”