Police performing a welfare check at an Ohio home found five family members dead inside
ByThe Associated Press
August 25, 2023, 10:48 AM
LAKE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Police performing a welfare check at an Ohio home found five family members inside who had died from gunshot wounds, including three children.
The bodies were found around 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Lake Township, according to Uniontown police. They were identified as Jason Dunham, 46, and his wife, Melissa Dunham, 42, and their children, Renee, 15; Amber, 12; and Evan, 9.
Authorities said the deaths are being investigated as a domestic dispute that turned deadly, but it’s not yet clear who fired the shots. They declined further comment Friday, citing the ongoing probe, and would not say why the welfare check was requested and who made it.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation was at the home Thursday night to help collect and document evidence. A BCI spokesman referred all questions to Uniontown police, who cover a portion of Lake Township.
Edmond Gadzacko, who lives next door to the Dunhams, told The Canton Repository that he and his wife always enjoyed their neighbors and never had any issues with them. He said the three children often played with his grandchildren when they visited.
Lake Local School District Superintendent Kevin Tobin said the children attended district schools. He said the district has mobilized its crisis response team and said counselors were made available for staff and students.
“It’s a very, very tragic incident and we will just rally as a school community and as Lake Local community,” Tobin told the newspaper.