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A Bucks County, Pennsylvania, man telephoned 911 on the night of Friday, June 17, 2011, to report that he had beaten his wife and their 7-year-old son to death in their home, then drove to a nearby rail line and killed himself, authorities said.

Christopher Moyer, 44, of Warrington Township, placed the call about 9:40 p.m., according to Warrington police and the Bucks County district attorney's office. "I need to report a murder," Moyer told the dispatcher, according to a recording prosecutors later released. Asked what had happened, he said, "a mother and son, bludgeoned to death." When the dispatcher asked whether he was responsible, he answered, "Yes, I did." Officials who described the call said Moyer spoke calmly throughout.

Officers sent to the family's house on Redstone Drive found Irina Geller Moyer, 39, and the couple's son, Dylan, who had just finished first grade, dead in their beds, the district attorney's office said. Bucks County Coroner Joseph Campbell said both had been struck in the head with a baseball bat as they slept, and that the boy's mother had been dragged into an adjoining bathroom. A bloody bat was found near the bodies, investigators said.

After the call, Moyer drove several miles to Hatboro and lay down on the SEPTA commuter tracks at the Meadow Avenue crossing, placing his head on a rail, District Attorney David Heckler said. A passenger train struck and killed him. His body was found around 1 a.m., about three hours after police reached the home. Officers said Moyer appeared to know the train schedule and was carrying $1,300 in cash.

Investigators said there were signs the killings had been planned. Police found a typewritten note taped to the front door that listed relatives on both sides of the family along with their telephone numbers and ended with the words "Thank you," Heckler said. Moyer also sent a text message to a relative after the killings to apologize, the district attorney said.

Heckler said authorities could not establish why Moyer killed his family, and that the exact motive might never be known. He said the household had been under financial pressure, citing a state tax lien of about $2,228 filed against the home in September 2010 and an earlier effort to stave off foreclosure.

Because Moyer acted alone and was dead, the district attorney said there was nothing left to investigate or prosecute, and the case was closed.