Autopsy: Two Clearwater Boys Were Drowned

Two Clearwater boys killed in a murder-suicide in September were drowned, the Tampa Bay Times reports, citing the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office.

Zander Brown, 9, and his brother Zayden, 5, were found dead in their Sidney Street home by Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies in the early morning hours of Sept. 22. The boys' mother, Dawn Brown, 34, was also found dead after she hanged herself from a ceiling fan, investigators said.

Autopsies on the two boys show drowning was their cause of death, and the deaths were ruled homicides, the Times reports.

The autopsies also showed high levels of a chemical commonly found in antiallergy and sleep medications in the boys' blood, according to the Times, suggesting they might have been given an over-the-counter medicine by their mother before they were killed.

A sheriff's office spokesperson told the newspaper they can't be sure Dawn Brown used medication to make the children drowsy or unconscious before drowning them.

The case is now considered closed, officials said.