2 bodies found in car in Henry County

ID'd as father, daughter from Fla.; investigated as a murder-suicide

1/15/2013

NEW BAVARIA, Ohio -- A custody dispute may have triggered the murder-suicide of a Parrish, Fla. man and his 10-year-old daughter who were found in a vehicle parked on a rural road, authorities said.

The custody case was filed in 2009 in Florida's Manatee County and involved Timothy R. Brown, 47, and his ex-wife, Nicole Brown. Mr. Brown is accused of killing his daughter, Alexandra Brown, and then turning the gun on himself Monday, said Henry County Sheriff Michael Bodenbender.

Craig Soria, an attorney for Ms. Brown, said a parenting coordinator was recently appointed in the Brown case. The coordinator had met with Mr. Brown and the two had some kind of a disagreement that could have contributed to whatever had caused the tragedy, Mr. Soria said.

"But to what extent it could have contributed is hard to tell," Mr. Soria said.

The marriage was dissolved about two years ago and the parents had joint custody over the child. There was no immediate threat to Mr. Brown's ability to spend time with his daughter, Mr. Soria said.

Sheriff's deputies responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle found the bodies about 10:40 a.m. in a vehicle parked on Henry County Road 16-A in the county's Pleasant Township.

Sheriff Bodenbender said the bodies had gunshot wounds. A 9-mm handgun was recovered at the scene, he said.

The autopsies were scheduled for today at the Lucas County Coroner's Office, which referred all inquiries to Dr. Marek Skoskiewicz, Henry County coroner, who could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Brown was a Holgate High School graduate, according to the sheriff's office. He leaves a father, who lives in the New Bavaria area, Sheriff Bodenbender said.

The sheriff said that Mr. Brown's father did not know that his son and granddaughter were in the area Monday. It was unclear why Mr. Brown and his daughter were there, the sheriff said.

Gary Dulle, the school principal, confirmed that Mr. Brown was a Holgate graduate but said he did not know him. He refused to comment further.

Ms. Brown and Gregory Kramer, Mr. Brown's attorney in the custody case, could not be reached for comment.

New Bavaria is about 12 miles southeast of Defiance, which is about 55 miles southwest of Toledo.

Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com, or 419-724-6089.