Five members of an Ohio family — including three children — were found dead inside their home Thursday evening in an apparent quadruple homicide-suicide which police describe as a “domestic dispute that turned deadly.”
Uniontown Police arrived at the Stark County home to perform a welfare check after the woman’s co-worker hadn’t heard from her in two days while the children missed two days of school, local outlet WKYC reported.
When officers arrived, they sensed something was wrong as the mail wasn’t taken inside but the cars were still parked outside.
“Noticed some packages were on the front porch, noticed some things were just not quite right,” Uniontown Police Chief Michael Batchik told WKYC.
Police identified the five victims as couple Jason Dunham, 46 and Melissa Dunham, 42, along with their three children, Renee Dunham, 15, Amber Dunham, 12, and Evan Dunham, 9, all of whom “succumbed to gunshot wounds believed to be from a domestic incident.”
With the help of a neighbor, police found the two adults and three children dead inside their respective bedrooms, according to CantonRep.com
Jason Dunham, whose gun was used in the shooting, had a gunshot wound “consistent with being self-inflicted,” Stark County’s chief investigator, Harry Campbell told the outlet.
Officials, however, have not identified who fired the shots.
“At this time, it is believed there are no other persons involved in this incident,” Uniontown Police said in a statement.
Melissa Dunham was a partner at the Bober Markey Fedorovich (BMF) Life and Careers Accounting firm, according to her LinkedIn.
“We are devastated by the shocking and tragic news of the deaths of Melissa Dunham and her family,” the Bober Markey Fedorovich firm said in a statement. “Melissa was an esteemed member of the BMF leadership team and a close friend to many of our associates. Her contributions during her 18 years with our firm have been immeasurable.”
Jason Dunham‘s LinkedIn shows he worked Sales and Business Development for retail management company POS Highway.
The scene inside the house was described as the “worst scene ever” for the unincorporated area of just over 7,000 residents, located 14 miles southeast of Akron.
“I’ve been out here 23 years and it’s the worst scene that I’ve ever been a part of,” Batchik said. “For me, this is the worst one I’ve ever been involved with in 23 years in law enforcement, and I’ve spent all 23 years out here in Uniontown.”
Police say they were never called to the Dunham’s house before for any reason and are still investigating a possible motive for the suspected homicide-suicide.
Source : New York Post
