Five bodies found in Ohio home; Foul play suspected

Updated 10:26 p.m. ET

TOLEDO, Ohio Firefighters in Ohio have broken into a garage and found five people dead, and police say they believe the deaths weren't accidental.

Investigators think all five might have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The dead include three children.

Toledo police spokesman Joe Heffernan says the bodies were found in the garage of the Toledo home at about 3:15 p.m. Monday.

Heffernan said officers were called to check on those inside the house after getting a call from a concerned family member.

Lucas County coroner, Dr. James Patrick, tells The (Toledo) Blade that the victims are a 56-year-old woman, her grandchildren, ages 10, 7 and 5, and a 32-year-old man, who is an uncle of one of the children.

A flatbed car-hauler was seen backing in toward the garage.

The residential neighborhood is close to the Ohio-Michigan state line.

Neighbors said an older couple and their adult son lived at the house and three children were there often but did not live with them.

Doug Hall, a neighbor who lives across the street, said he saw the son and kids raking leaves last week. He said the only unusual thing he's noticed was a police car at the house last Thursday. He said he didn't know why it was there.

Another neighbor said he saw the kids helping with the yard work and playing in the leaves just a few days ago.

"One minute they're doing the leaves, and then the next there are cop cars all over," Eric Pieper said.

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Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that is poisonous to breathe but produced by many types of equipment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It kills hundreds of people every year and sickens thousands more.

The gas is found in combustion fumes, such as those from cars, trucks, generators, stoves and heating systems. The CDC points out carbon monoxide is particularly deadly because it people can't tell it is present unless there is a carbon monoxide detector nearby.