Deputies and police in an Ohio village are investigating an apparent murder-suicide. A family was found dead in Lithopolis on Wednesday morning. Fairfield County Sheriff Alex Lape initially said that a woman and two young children were apparently killed, while a man took his own life, according to WBNS.
The sheriff identified the adults as Kiara and Joseph Anderson, but he did not initially specify their relationship. Lape later named the children as Joseph Anderson Jr., 5, and Jeffrey Anderson, 2.
Sheriff confirms two children killed were Joseph Jr., 5, and Jeffrey, 2.
— Brittany Bailey (@BrittBaileyTV) December 22, 2021
Authorities eventually said Joseph and Kiara Anderson were husband and wife, and the boys were the couple’s sons, according to WSYX.
Fairview County deputies and Lithopolis police reportedly said they got called about a shooting on Westview Terrace on Wednesday morning. They found the bodies with gunshots wounds when they entered the home, Lape said.
The sheriff did not suggest an alleged motive. The investigation is ongoing.
The FCSO has reported four people died of gunshot wounds in a Lithopolis home Wednesday morning. Deputies are treating it as a homicide-suicide. https://t.co/EvVUo1qYZy
— Lancaster E-G (@EagleGazette) December 22, 2021
Oh my goodness.
What a terrible, awful, story out of Fairfield County. Prayers up for this family.
“Deputies found the bodies of a man, a woman and two children under the age of five.”https://t.co/jSPgdW1pJ3
— Holly Zachariah (@hollyzachariah) December 22, 2021
The 911 caller got the information about the possible shooting secondhand, according to Lape in a Lancaster Eagle Gazette report.
This is currently being investigated as a homicide-suicide, and there is no reason to suspect anything else, the sheriff said.
[Screenshot via WSYX]
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