A man and his seven children were poisoned by carbon monoxide from a generator they were using after the power company cut off their electricity, according to the victims’ relatives.
Police found the bodies of dad Rodney Todd and his seven young children in their Maryland home on Monday (Apr 6) after they were contacted by a concerned co-worker who had not seen the single father for days.
Police have said that accidental carbon monoxide poisoning killed the family, which included two sons and five daughters..
Todd’s stepfather, Lloyd Edwards told the Associated Press that his stepson had bought a generator after the power was shut off to the home in Princess Anne.
Edwards said: “It was just disbelief. It’s so hard. How can you understand something like this?
“He was an outstanding dad. To keep his seven children warm, he bought a generator, and the carbon monoxide consumed them.”
Princess Anne Police chief Scott Keller said that the Delmarva Power company has been subpoenaed to document exactly when it cut off power to the home.
Maryland law bars utilities from terminating electric service for nonpayment of bills from November 1 through March 31 without an affidavit filed to the Public Service Commission.
Keller told the AP that there was no foul play and that a generator with no gasoline was found in the kitchen.
He confirmed that electricity to the home was turned off and said officers were looking into when that began.
Matt Likovich, a spokesman for Delmarva Power, would not say whether the power to the home had been cut off. He said the matter is being investigated.
Bonnie Edwards, Todd’s mother, said her son set an example for his children, teaching them how to talk to elders and the value of education.
For each child’s birthday, he bought a cake and a gift even though money was tight, with only his income supporting the family, she said.
“There was nothing he wouldn’t do for them,” she said. “All he was trying to do was to keep his kids warm. I speak to him every day, four or five times.
“He calls and tells me what’s going on. I don’t know why he didn’t tell me this time because he knew I would have helped him.”
A police statement said only that the cause of the deaths remains under investigation, and it identified the victims as an adult and seven children from 6 years old to the teens.
The grandmother identified her son’s children as boys Cameron, 13, and Zycheim, 7; and girls Tynijuiza, 15; Tykira, 12; Tybree, 10; Tyania, 9; and Tybria, 6.
“I feel empty,” she said. “I’m used to coming up here and seeing my grandkids running up and down the steps.”
Todd was a utility worker at the nearby University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said his supervisor Stephanie Wells.
Wells, who hadn’t seen Todd since March 28, said she went to the house Monday morning and knocked on the door, but no one answered.
That’s when she filed a missing-person report with police.
“He was a good person; he always did what he was told,” Wells said. “He took care of seven kids. I last saw him on March 28, and I’d asked co-workers to look for him because it didn’t seem right. ”
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