TOLEDO -- Five people were found dead in the garage of a West Toledo home on Monday.
"It appears the manner of death is carbon monoxide poisoning and some evidence from the scene suggests that it was not accidental," Toledo Police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said early on in the investigation.
Authorities say they were first called to 5142 Harvest Lane by Randy Ford, who asked for assistance checking on the well-being of his wife.
Ford told 911 dispatchers he found "suspicious" notes from his wife, 54-year-old Sandy Ford; their 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.
The 56-year-old also reported he could not gain entry into the home's garage.
Toledo Police say firefighters had to break into the property, using a sledgehammer to gain entry, and found five people dead inside.
"Nobody wants to see five dead people. It's a very unpleasant scene and we as first responders sometimes get used to a little bit, so to speak, but it is upsetting to see," Heffernan said of the crime scene.
Officials say a truck, also in the enclosed garage, had hoses leading from its exhaust into the car the victims were in.
Police also found two dogs and a cat dead inside the Honda Civic with the five bodies.
In a press release issued Monday night, Toledo Police said the children had been living with their grandparents at the Harvest Lane home.
Their investigation also found the childrens' parents were trying to regain full custody.
Police say the grandmother, Sandy Ford, was upset about that and that may have been the motive for the murder suicide.
(Brittany Patterson, Eric Wildstein and Kevin Kistner contributed to this report)
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