N.Y. teacher ID’d as victim in Palm Springs double-slaying suicide

A New York special education teacher has been identified as one of the three people killed Sunday night in what appears to be a double slaying and suicide in Palm Springs.

The Riverside County coroner’s office identified the dead as Bianca Knauf, 23; Daniel Knauf, 27; and 59-year-old Sally Knauf, who worked for the Rochester City School District.

Authorities said they discovered the trio dead inside an apartment, where Bianca and Daniel Knauf lived. Authorities said they also found a 2-year-old boy inside the apartment, sleeping.

Palm Springs police believe Daniel Knauf shot and killed his wife, Bianca, then turned the gun on his mother, Sally, before shooting himself inside their apartment on East Tahquitz Canyon Way.

Family members and a concerned employer later went to the home to check on the family’s well-being. They also found the 2-year-old child. Police declined to say how the boy is related to the couple.

The Desert Sun newspaper reported that Sally Kanuf had announced plans to visit her son and grandson during her winter break.

It was not immediately clear when they died, according to the coroner’s office.

School officials, who worked with Sally Knauf, sent a letter to parents Tuesday about her death.

Grief counselors were made available to faculty, students and parents at Kodak Park School No. 41 in Rochester, N.Y.

Principal Marion Whitfield said the teacher was a “dedicated and highly-regarded special education teacher.”

“She was a well-loved, committed educator who was known for going above and beyond in helping both her students and colleagues,” she said in the letter.

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