A murder-suicide involving young three children was uncovered on Monday
after Ohio firefighters used sledgehammers to force open a barricaded garage
door only to find a truck with the engine running and hoses leading from the
exhaust into a Honda Civic.
Inside the car were the bodies of five family members. They have been
identified as 54-year-old Sandy Ford, her 32-year-old son, Andy Ford, and her
grandchildren, 10-year-old Paige Hayes, 6-year-old Logan Hayes and 5-year-old
Madalyn Hayes. Investigators said the relatives died of carbon monoxide
poisoning. Two dogs and a cat also were found dead.
A lone teddy bear sits outside the Toledo home of a grandmother who along with her son plotted a murder-suicide pact involving her three grandchildren
Grandfather Randy Ford returned home Monday to find suspicious notes in
the house from his wife, son and grandkids. He called the police when he wasn't
able to enter the garage. Those letters indicate that a plot was orchestrated
by the kid's grandmother and uncle amid a disagreement over who should care for
the kids, police said Tuesday. Until last week, the children had lived with Sandy Ford and her husband
Randy at the house in a residential neighborhood close to the Michigan state
line. Andy Ford also lived at the home.
Firefighters broke into a garage to find a Dodge pickup truck running with a hose running to a Honda Civic where the five bodies were found
The barricaded door and the letters made it 'very evident that it was a
murder-suicide situation,' Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said Tuesday. He
wouldn't offer details about what was in the notes.
There were no signs that
the children were forced into the car, he said. Police said Sandy Ford had been
distressed about a change in who was to care for her grandchildren. Children's
services representatives and a family friend said the children's mother, Mandy
Hayes, had asked their grandmother to care for them about three years ago
because a fourth child at the home was becoming disruptive.
Until last week the three children had lived with Sandy Ford and her husband Randy at the house in Toledo
Monday's tragic deaths are believed to have been as a consequence of a custody dispute over the three children involved
But Hayes recently decided they should all return home, and the children
moved back into their parents' home last week, upsetting Hayes' mother, said
the friend, Cammie Turner. 'Mandy wasn't taking the kids away from her
entirely,' Turner said. 'She wanted them home. It wasn't like she was taking
them and grandma could never see them again.' Children services workers met
with both sides of the family within the past week, most recently on Saturday,
said Dean Sparks, executive director of Lucas County Children Services. 'We
only know that there were a lot of allegations back and forth,' he said, adding
that the grandmother was worried about placing the children back in the home
with their 9-year-old brother, who had been disruptive in the past. But the
agency had no authority to decide who should keep the children, he said, and
the parents had every right to bring them back into their home.
Ohio firefighters had to use sledgehammers to force open the barricaded garage door
Investigators believe that the five relatives, plus two dogs and a cat all died of carbon monoxide poisoning
While the children were living with their grandparents, Hayes and her
husband saw them often and went on outings to parks and the zoo, Turner said. Turner
said she never saw any indication of a strained relationship between Hayes and
her mother, and they never went to court over the issue of custody. Family
members declined to comment. Doug Hall, a neighbor who lives across the street, said he saw the
Fords' son and the children raking leaves last week. He said the only unusual
thing he's noticed was a police car at the house last Thursday. He said he
didn't know why it was there. Another neighbor said he saw the kids helping
with the yard work and playing in the leaves just a few days ago. 'One minute
they're doing the leaves, and then the next there are cop cars all over,' Eric
Pieper said
Source: Daily Mail UK
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