Who were Melissa and Jason Dunham? Family of 5 including 3 children found dead in Ohio in suspected murder-suicide
UNIONTOWN, OHIO: A suburban neighborhood in Uniontown, Ohio was left shocked after a family of five was found dead at their home on Thursday night, August 24.
A businessman named, Jason Dunham, his accountant wife Melissa Dunham, and their children aged 15, 12, and 9 died in a suspected murder-suicide, reported People.
Was Melissa Dunham a top accountant in Ohio?
Melissa Dunham was a top accountant in Ohio and according to her LinkedIn page, she was a partner at accounting firm Bober Markey Fedorovich & Co.
The accolades won by the mother of three include the 30 For the Future Award from the Greater Akron Chamber and the Woman of Professional Excellence award presented by the Women’s Network.
The 42-year-old woman held a bachelor's degree in accounting from Westminster College, a Master of Taxation from The University of Akron, and an MBA from Kent State University.
Why do police suspect the Dunham killings were a murder-suicide?
Upon arriving at the scene for a wellness check, responding officers found five victims dead at the home and stated the incident was a "domestic dispute that turned deadly."
As per the press release, an investigation into the "quadruple, homicide, suicide" is being conducted by the police department along with the coroner's office, the Stark County Prosecutor's Office, and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Based on the initial investigation, authorities do not suspect the involvement of anyone outside the Dunham family in this shocking death.
Chief investigator Henry Campbell also identified the children as Renee, Amber, and Evan. He confirmed that the family of five died from gunshot wounds.
Campbell stated all five of them were pronounced dead at 9.52 pm.
Neighbors of Jason Dunham described him as a 'controlling' man
The family's neighbors Edmond Gadzacko and his wife, Denise said they never had issues with the Dunhams and added that the younger son was a Boy Scout and the two girls were Girl Scouts.
Denise called Melissa a "wonderful mother," and described Jason as a "nice man, but controlling."
Confirming the death of the three Lake Local School District students, the superintendent of the school district, Kevin Tobin, issued a statement.
"We alerted our parents and our staff (about the tragedy)," read the statement, the Repository reported.
"And we have counselors and others meeting (with kids) as we speak. We are working through this as calm and compassionate as we can," stated Tobin.
"It's a very, very tragic incident and we will just rally as a school community and as Lake Local community," he added.