Authorities are investigating the deaths of a 22-month-old boy and his two grandparents, who were found dead inside an Ohio home.
The three victims were discovered Wednesday at a residence in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, after the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call in which “a voice softly says the word ‘help,’” the agency said in a release.
Deputies found Kozzar Lotut, 22 months old, along with Melissa Campbell, 51, and Gale Sanders, 67, dead from apparent gunshot wounds. News Media confirmed the identities through the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office.
Melissa Campbell and two other people were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds inside an Ohio home. (Facebook/Meta: Melissa Campbell)
Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell said investigators are examining the deaths as a possible murder-suicide.
“Right now, if I had to say the evidence was leaning one way, it’s definitely leaning towards a murder-suicide. We’re pretty confident, you know, that it happened within the home,” he told WOIO.
Investigators said two grandparents and a toddler were found dead Wednesday inside a home in Gnadenhutten, Ohio. (Facebook/Meta: Sarah Sanders, Melissa Campbell)
The grandparents cared for the toddler, who had “medical disabilities,” according to the sheriff.
The Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the reported murder-suicide. (Facebook/Meta: Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office)
RELATED: Christa Pike Execution Team Warned of Risks Before Botched Lethal Injection, Court Documents Say
Before her death, Campbell appeared to have worked as a registered nurse at New Philadelphia Health Care Center in Ohio.
The investigation began after first responders struggled to determine where the 911 call had originated.
The unidentified caller initially contacted 911 and then disconnected. Dispatchers called the number back several times, and during one of those attempts, someone answered and quietly said, “help.”
Investigators eventually traced the call to a home on Cherry Street in the small Ohio community.
Three people were found dead in a reported murder-suicide at a home on N. Cherry Street in Gnadenhutten, Ohio. (Google Maps)
A great-grandmother opened the door and allowed investigators to enter the residence.
The victims’ bodies were transported to the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office for autopsies. The cause and manner of death remain “pending.”
“Additional information will be released as it becomes available and as appropriate,” the Coroner’s Office said.
News Media has contacted American Medical Administrators, which operates New Philadelphia Health Care Center, as well as the Sheriff’s Office for comment.