Chicago - An Ohio woman and her son appear to have conspired to kill the woman's grandchildren, their pets and themselves with carbon monoxide as a result of a custody dispute, reports said on Tuesday.
Police believe grandmother Sandy Ford, 56, and uncle Andy Ford, 32, were trying to keep the children's parents from gaining custody of Paige Hayes, 10, Logan Hayes, 7, and Madalyn Hayes, 5.
The bodies were discovered after Randy Ford, 60, came home from work and found notes from his wife, son and grandchildren, the Toledo Blade reported.
He called for help when he found the garage door locked and barricaded from the inside. Firefighters had to use a sledgehammer to force their way into the garage.
They found hoses from the exhaust pipe of a truck also parked in the garage running into the back window of the sedan where the bodies were discovered.
Police also found two dogs and a cat inside the car.
A spokesman for the Toledo police did not immediately return a request for comment.
However, he told the paper that police had been called to the home twice last week, once for a domestic violence report between Sandy Ford and her daughter, Mandy Hayes, and again for help with a custody exchange. - Sapa-AFP