NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- More than $ 20 million from dozens of clients is unaccounted for in the aftermath of what police say was a murder-suicide by the attorney who invested the money , according to a source with direct knowledge of deceased lawyer William Parente 's financial dealings . Police say Stephanie Parente 's father killed his family and himself in a Baltimore hotel Monday . Some investors fear their entire life savings have been wiped out , said the source , who based the $ 20 million amount on knowledge of Parente 's finances . Some other investors are missing what could amount to another $ 7 million , CNN has learned , so the total of missing money tied to Parente could be upwards of $ 27 million . Baltimore County , Maryland , police say Parente , 59 , killed his family before committing suicide . The bodies of Parente , his wife and their two daughters were found in a hotel room in Towson , Maryland , on Monday . The source , who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive financial information involved , said one investor had been involved with Parente for more than 15 years , receiving regular monthly payments from Parente until April 16 , four days before the bodies were found . The source said Parente solicited personal loans from clients at high interest , promising to use the money for bridge financing of real estate projects such as shopping centers . The source did not know whether Parente , of Garden City , New York , had actually used the money for any legitimate investments . The source , who knew Parente for more than 15 years , described him as `` serious , somber and conservative . '' Parente told investors he was generating returns of more than 13 percent even in down markets , according to the source . Investors were not given investment statements and were not charged a management fee , but Parente did provide notices informing investors that he owed them money , according to the source . In other developments Friday , police said Parente bought a set of knives from a Crate and Barrel store in Towson , and one of the knives is believed to be the one Parente later used to take his own life . Baltimore County police said that knife is being tested as evidence in the murder/suicide case . Investigators say they found a receipt for the knife in the hotel room where the deaths took place , and the time stamped on the receipt was 5:25 p.m. Sunday . Police have said Parente 's wife , Betty , 58 , and daughters Catherine , 11 , and Stephanie , 19 , were killed by asphyxiation and blunt force trauma Sunday afternoon . Authorities said Parente took a call about midnight Sunday from his elder daughter 's college roommate asking whether she was returning to her dormitory . Police believe Parente 's daughter was already dead . He told the roommate his daughter was spending the night at the hotel with the family . Also Friday , other details emerged about some of Parente 's other clients . One of Parente 's investors was Queens lawyer Bruce Montague , and Montague 's office has heard from 10 Parente clients whose investments are unaccounted for . Together , those clients had invested about $ 7 million . Through a law partner , Craig Gardy , Montague said he is missing $ 450,000 . The clients are from New York , New Jersey , California and Florida , according to Montague 's office . The office has referred those clients to the FBI . Gardy said Montague , who considered Parente to be a personal friend , remains too devastated about the deaths to provide details himself , but he authorized his partners to speak on his behalf . The scenario as given by his partners was that after the Bernard Madoff scandal broke last fall , Montague got `` cold feet '' and repeatedly asked Parente for his investment money back . On April 16 , Montague tried to deposit a check from Parente for $ 245,000 . On Tuesday , April 21 , when Montague 's bank notified him the check did not clear , he called Chase bank , where Parente 's funds were held . Montague was told Parente 's account was empty , according to Gardy , and it would be useless to deposit other checks received from Parente . Then Montague called the New York attorney general 's office . He called the attorney general 's office again after he learned about Parente 's murder/suicide . Gardy said Montague believed he was investing in real estate notes -- short-term , high-interest loans made to developers , for example , who wanted to circumvent conventional bank loans . Montague did not receive monthly or quarterly statements . Gardy said Montague believed he was making money on interest from those loans and would sometimes get a check when the note was paid off . The FBI is continuing its investigation . Spokesman James Margolin said a number of banks are being contacted . He would not identify them . Funerals for Parente 's wife and daughters are scheduled for Tuesday at St. Joseph 's Catholic Church in Garden City , New York . The funeral home handling arrangements said a separate , private service will be held for William Parente .
Police say William Parente killed wife , 2 daughters and himself . Parente may have taken more than $ 27 million from dozens of clients . Clients got no investment statements and were not charged a management fee . A client nervous after Madoff case found there was no money in Parente 's account .