Autopsies confirm 5 died of carbon monoxide poisoning but give few other clues

Logan, Madalyn, and Paige Hayes.

Autopsies show that the family of five who were found dead inside a West Toledo garage Monday died of carbon monoxide poisoning, said Lucas County Deputy Coroner Dr. Cynthia Beisser.

Since the bodies were found, police had said the the five -- Sandy Ford, 56, Andy Ford, 32, Paige Hayes, 10, Logan Hayes, 7, and Madalyn Hayes, 5 -- died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but the autopsies performed Tuesday and Wednesday confirm that.

Police have said that Mrs. Ford and Mr. Ford -- the grandmother and uncle of the children  -- conspired to kill themselves and the children. Police were called to the Ford's Harvest Lane home in West Toledo on Monday afternoon after Mrs. Ford's husband, Randy Ford, 60, found "suspicious" notes and called 911.

Toledo fire crews broke into the garage using a sledgehammer and the five were found sitting in a Honda Civic with hoses from the exhaust pipe of a running truck, also parked in the garage, pumping fumes into a rear passenger window.

The five were pronounced dead at the scene.

Dr. Beisser said there is no way to tell how long the bodies were in the garage or what time they died. She won't know if any of the deceased had drugs in their system until toxicology reports are available, which will take six to eight weeks.

The doctor said the children were not restrained in any way.