SEATTLE – A mother of three was stabbed to death in her own home Sunday, and family members say the victim’s ex-husband is likely to blame.

Noemi Lopez was found dead by her three children - ages 6, 13, and 15 – when they returned from church about 4:30 p.m. to their home in the 7600 block of 46th Avenue South.

Friends and family said Lopez and her ex-husband, who divorced in 2006, got into one of their regular fights inside the home Sunday afternoon, but this time the violence escalated and Lopez was killed.

The victim’s mother, Maria Lopez, said her daughter’s ex-husband had threatened earlier this week to go on a killing spree.

"(He's) gonna kill another person," she said. “He (said) he had three people to kill."

Police are not releasing the name of the suspect or where they think he may be, but Noemi’s family said he may be headed to his native Mexico.

Elizabeth Lopez said her sister helped move the family from El Salvador and worked two jobs to make ends meet.

"It’s a lot of pain and a lot of grief," she said. "I was in shock. I was just hoping that she was just hurt, not dead."

Homicide detectives and members of the police department's crime scene investigation unit were on scene throughout the evening collecting evidence and interviewing people who knew Noemi.