More than two weeks ago, seven children lost their mother, who was beaten to death. While attending her funeral Friday, an officer told them that their father, who had been charged with killing her, had been found dead in a suicide near their Brooklyn Center home.

The children, ages 5 to 22, have been staying with an uncle's family in Minneapolis since June 10, when police found You Her, 39, slain with a claw hammer in their home.

Her husband, Ger Xiong, 41, was charged with second-degree murder in her death. He left a note in Hmong for relatives in their home saying his life was "not good," without love and that he "was going to be done today," said charges filed in Hennepin County District Court.

His body was found hanging in a tree Thursday evening in Brooklyn Center's Palmer Lake Park by two teenage boys. His death was a suicide by hanging, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office ruled Friday.

"They had mixed emotions," detective Garett Flesland said Friday after informing the children that their father's body had been found. "There was some release in knowing the final outcome. They still cared about him. There was a bit of shock."

The couple's 5-year-old son was the only child home when Her was killed June 10. The others were in school. The boy later told authorities that Xiong hurt Her. The 22-year-old found his mother when he came home from technical school, saw Xiong's note and called police about noon.

Police also found a bloody claw hammer under a pile of clothing in a bedroom. Family members told investigators that the couple had argued the day of the killing. Her previously had sought a protective order against Xiong but changed her mind, according to court documents.

An autopsy by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office found 12 wounds on Her's head consistent with having been beaten with a claw hammer.

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658