The Washington County coroner has determined that a woman and her two children found dead at a house in Marianna on Wednesday night were killed by asphyxiation.

State police have charged Orlando "Foo" Guarino, 38, with the deaths of his wife, Ashley Guarino, 22; his daughter Druex, 2; and his son, Orlando Jr., 10 months.

Ms. Guarino's stepfather and a friend discovered the victims' bodies at Mr. Guarino's house on Third Street in Marianna after kicking in the door, according to a criminal complaint. Her friend, Tyler Powell, found her lying in the laundry room, covered in blood.

Mr. Powell and William Wyland, Ms. Guarino's stepfather, found the dead children upstairs. Orlando Jr. was in his crib.

On June 27, Ms. Guarino had received a protection from abuse order against her husband, after she accused him of holding Orlando Jr. out of the door of a moving vehicle. She had moved into her own apartment in North Franklin.

The day of her death, she had been with Mr. Powell. She told him she planned to go "home"; he assumed she meant her North Franklin apartment.

Mr. Powell later called her cell phone and Mr. Guarino answered, according to the complaint. He threatened to come to Mr. Powell's residence.

Mr. Powell left work around 2 p.m. and went to Ms. Guarino's North Franklin residence, but he didn't find her there. He then drove by the Marianna home. He kept going when he didn't find her car.

He called Ms. Guarino's parents, who also had not heard from her. He and Mr. Wyland went to the Marianna home around 11 p.m.

State police said that Mr. Guarino went to the home of Tracy Lee Johnson Wednesday and told her he had violated his wife's protection from abuse order. She helped him dispose of his truck, according to the complaint, and she then left him at the Avalon Motor Inn in Eighty Four, where he checked in shortly after midnight.

Police unsuccessfully tried to apprehend Mr. Guarino there Thursday morning. They later captured him in the afternoon in Canton, just outside Washington, Pa., following a brief chase in which a state trooper fired a shot at him.

Acquaintances of Mr. Guarino told police that in the past he had he had threatened to "take Ashley out and take the kids out" if his wife ever left him.

One friend told police that Mr. Guarino had said Wednesday that it's a "done deal." Another said that when she asked where his wife and children were he replied that they "can't be seen at this time." He also kept asking if she had heard anything on the police scanner.

Mr. Guarino has a criminal history that includes assault, drug and firearm charges, and he has spent several years in jail.

Washington County District Attorney Steve Toprani has said he may seek the death penalty against Mr. Guarino.