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Sheriff says evidence 'leaning one way' in shooting deaths of disabled toddler and grandparents: report

23 October 2026 at 16:05

Mystery is surrounding the deaths of a toddler and his two grandparents after the three of them were discovered dead by investigators.

It happened inside a home in Gnadenhutten, Ohio. The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office confirmed deputies responded to a 911 call where "a voice softly says the word 'help'" on Wednesday, the agency said in a release.

They arrived to find Kozzar Lotut, who was just 22 months old, Melissa Campbell, 51, and Gale Sanders, 67, deceased with apparent gunshot wounds. Fox News Digital confirmed their identities with the Tuscarawas Coroner's Office.

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The deaths are being investigated as a murder-suicide, according to Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell.

"Right now, if I had to say the evidence was leaning one way, it’s definitely leaning towards a murder-suicide. We’re pretty confident, you know, that it happened within the home," he told WOIO.

The toddler's grandparents cared for the baby, who had "medical disabilities," he said.

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Campbell appeared to work as a registered nurse at New Philadelphia Health Care Center in Ohio before her death.

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As for how deputies made the grim discovery — first responders had difficulty tracing the 911 call when it first came through.

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The unnamed caller originally dialed 911 and hung up. Dispatchers tried to call the line back several times — and in one of those calls someone picked up and softly said the word "help."

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Through investigative efforts, deputies eventually traced the line back to a home on Cherry Street in the small community.

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It was a great-grandmother who opened the door and let investigators inside.

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Bodies of the three victims were taken to the Tuscarawas County Coroner's Office for autopsies, where manner and cause of death are still "pending."

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"Additional information will be released as it becomes available and as appropriate," the Coroner's Office said.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to American Medical Administrators, which operates New Philadelphia Health Care Center and the Sheriff's Office for comment.

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