KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – The family of a mother found dead in her Kaufman County home over the weekend says her car was at the center of a deadly police chase that ended in Dallas.

Michelle Ingram, 53, has been identified as the murder victim from Kaufman County. Her family says they had not heard from her over the weekend and were worried.

After visiting her home several times, family members managed to break into her house and found her body under a blanket.

Ray Saffold is the one who found his aunt dead in her Kaufman County home on Sunday afternoon.

“We finally opened the door and then we shot upstairs. It was dark. That gave me caution. It’s dark. We don’t know what’s going on. We don’t know if he’s in there,” he recalled.

Ingram leaves behind a son of her own, but Saffold says she was a second mother to many.

“She was a loving, caring person. I think that’s what led to her downfall,” Ingram’s cousin said. “She was just too caring and she couldn’t see the carelessness in other people sometimes.”

When Kaufman County deputies arrived on the scene on Sunday, they realized foul play was involved.

According to Ingram’s family, her husband of 20 years was not home and her brand new black Cadillac was missing.

Nearly 24 hours later on Monday afternoon, Richardson police attempted to stop a black Cadillac with paper tags, which they said was a vehicle of interest in a homicide in Kaufman County over the weekend. A chase ensued.

“I saw it on the news. And then I saw the car, and he was in her car,” Saffold recalled. “And that’s how I knew it was him.”

According to investigators, the driver of the Cadillac shot several times at a Richardson police car, causing the officer to return fire.

The chase ended in Dallas when the driver committed suicide before the Cadillac came to a stop on the service road of the North Central Expressway, near the I-635 interchange, according to police.

Police have not confirmed the identity of that driver, but Ingram’s family believes they know who the driver was. They are calling this a case of domestic violence and now they have no explanation.

“It wouldn’t change anything. But the fact is why did you do that to her?” Saffold said.

According to police, a female passenger in the Cadillac was taken to the hospital after being shot multiple times by the driver.

Three children, ages 5, 15 and 17, were in the backseat during the chase and gunfight. They were not injured.

In Kaufman County, neighbors saw forensic investigators at Ingram’s home in the past 48 hours.

But on Tuesday the connections between the facts became apparent and local residents were shocked.

“I knew something was up because they had the tape around the house,” said neighbor Curtis Kimmons. “That’s horrible. That’s horrible what happened to her.”

Dallas police and Richardson police are investigating. No officers were injured.

The unidentified woman who was in the passenger seat of the Cadillac remains in critical condition in a Dallas hospital Tuesday evening.