A heavily pregnant woman who fell to death before her three young children were found dead was "a beautiful, intelligent girl" who cared too much, her family said.
Fiona Anderson, 23, has been formally identified after she suffered fatal head injuries at a multi-storey car park on Monday morning.
Officers investigating the incident later found the children - named by neighbours as Levina, three, Addy, two, and 11-month-old baby Kyden - at their home in London Road South, Lowestoft, Suffolk.
In a statement issued by Suffolk police, Ms Anderson's mother Kerry, father Michael and sisters, Claire and Laura, said she "cared passionately" but had suffered with mental illness from a young age.
They said: "Fiona was a beautiful, intelligent girl and a loving and caring person, but she had suffered from mental illness since she was young and we believe she was driven to her actions yesterday.
"This was not our Fiona - she was not herself. She cared passionately about others but often brought stress on herself by caring too much. She was gentle but ended up under too much pressure.
"As a family we were close but she would often push us away, keen to do her own thing and not to listen when we offered support. Life was sometimes overwhelming for her.
"She was really popular but just didn't believe she was and had forgotten there were people there that could help her.
"We wish more had been done to recognise her mental health problems, which could be masked by her intelligence and creativity. She would often make costumes for the children, who she loved very much."
The family added that Ms Anderson would be remembered as a "girlie girl" who was also a very private person.
They said: "Fiona will be known to many in Lowestoft as she attended Oulton Broad Primary, Lothingland Middle and
Benjamin Britten High Schools and will be remembered by us as a girlie girl who loved Disney films and playing with her Barbies and My Little Ponies when she was younger.
Tributes left outside the home of Fiona Anderson and her children
"While she was popular she was also a very private person and we'd ask that the media respect this."
Post-mortem examinations have failed to ascertain how the children died and further tests will be carried out, police said.
It emerged last night that officers spoke to Ms Anderson shortly before her body was found.
They visited her home in the early hours of Monday morning after receiving reports the father of her children, Craig McLelland, had been stabbed by a man nearby, sources said.
Officers spoke to her via an intercom system but were refused entry.
Mr McLelland has since told police that the attack did not take place and he was wounded in Ms Anderson's home.
A Suffolk police spokesman they were contacted at 8pm on Sunday to reports of a man having been stabbed.
The spokesman said officers were later refused entry.
The case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Neighbours said Ms Anderson was eight months pregnant with a baby girl she had planned on calling Evalie.
She was seen entering the car park in Battery Green Road, Lowestoft, shortly before 8am on Monday, Suffolk police said.
CCTV footage showed Ms Anderson walking around Lowestoft holding a teddy bear shortly before she was found.
Witnesses have reported that she dropped off her house keys at the Fyffe centre homeless shelter where she believed
Mr McLelland was staying, police said.
Mr McLelland wept yesterday as he left flowers outside the home where his children were found.
Later in the day Mr McLelland's siblings also brought cuddly toys to add to a pile of teddy bears left in the front patio.
Neighbours and friends said he and Ms Anderson had separated recently and that she was depressed, had asked social services for help and was worried they would take her children away.
Neighbour and friend Megan Smith, 19, said that Ms Anderson had split up with her boyfriend the night before the tragedy.
Ms Smith said: "She was crying out for help because she was depressed, she couldn't cope.
"She was a lovely, bubbly person, she kept herself to herself, she did the best by her kids, her kids didn't want for anything."
But others in the neighbourhood claimed the break-up had happened two weeks previously after Mr McLelland started a new relationship.
Neighbour Nicola Lewis, 19, said Ms Anderson had "called the woman out" on Facebook but the post was later deleted.
In Facebook updates made the night before she and the children were found dead, Ms Anderson posted pictures of all her children.
The last post she made showed an ultrasound scan of the baby she was expecting.
Tributes continued to pour in throughout the day outside the house where the family lived, with children's toys and flower bouquets piling up.
One card read: "Thinking of your family and friends at this really sad time. May you all rest in peace. Heart breaking and sad. From a family that don't know you but was saddened by this."
Detective Superintendent John Brocklebank said the force was "conducting a meticulous investigation" into the tragedy.
The IPCC said it was awaiting details of the case from Suffolk police.
An IPCC spokesman said: "We await a referral and once we have received it, we will make a decision about the level of IPCC involvement."