Death on a Snow Day

"Columbus, OH - Police suspect a murder-suicide in the deaths of a couple and their two small children. Their four bodies were found yesterday afternoon in their Whitehall home.

"Police have not released the names of the dead, but Mike Meeks said they are his brother, Mark Meeks, 51; his brother's wife, Jennifer Dallas-Meeks, 40; and their children, Abby, 8, and Jimmy, 5.

"The bodies were found in a ranch home owned by the couple at 918 Beechwood Rd.

"Whitehall police refused to say last night how the four died or whether a weapon was found.

"`It has the markings of a murder-suicide,` Sgt. Daniel Kelso said without elaborating. `This is not a high-crime area.`

"Relatives of the couple called police a little before 2 p.m. requesting that officers check on the family's well-being, Kelso said. Police found the four bodies upon arrival...

"Both children attended Etna Road Elementary, and Dallas-Meeks was an active PTA member, Whitehall Superintendent Judy Dobbert-Meloy said. Jimmy was in kindergarten and Abby was a third-grader, though both were home yesterday because of a snow day."

From the Columbus Dispatch...