In brief: Murder-suicide suspected in deaths
TOLEDO, Ohio – Three children, their uncle, and their grandmother were found dead inside a garage Monday in what appears to be a murder-suicide amid a custody dispute.
A truck was running with hoses leading from the exhaust into a car in the family’s Toledo garage Monday. Inside the vehicle were the bodies of 54-year-old Sandy Ford; her 32-year-old son, Andy Ford; and her grandchildren, 10-year-old Paige Hayes, 6-year-old Logan Hayes and 5-year-old Madalyn Hayes, police said.
Sandy Ford’s husband, Randy, called police Monday afternoon to say that he had returned home and found suspicious notes in the house from his wife, son and grandkids. He said he wasn’t able to enter the garage.
Firefighters used a sledgehammer to open a door to the garage, which had been barricaded shut. The bodies of the five people, two dogs and one cat were found in the car.
Investigators believe they died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The five victims lived with Randy Ford in the house, located in a residential neighborhood close to the Michigan state line.
UPS ends grants to Boy Scouts
ATLANTA – The philanthropic arm of shipping giant UPS said it will no longer give money to the Boy Scouts of America as long as the group discriminates against gays, the second major corporation to recently strip funding from the scouts.
The UPS Foundation made the change Thursday after an online petition protesting its annual grants to the Boy Scouts attracted more than 80,000 signatures. UPS, based in Atlanta, follows computer chip maker Intel in withdrawing corporate support for the Boy Scouts.
The UPS Foundation gave more than $85,000 to the Boy Scouts in 2011, according to its federal tax return.
UPS spokeswoman Kristen Petrella said groups applying for the foundation grants will have to adhere to the same standards UPS does by not discriminating against anyone based on race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
The UPS Foundation distributed $45.3 million in grants last year. Petrella said she was not aware of any other current grant recipients who would be affected by the new policy.
Man identified in police shooting
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A 64-year-old man who was killed after walking into a suburban Detroit police station and opening fire on officers without saying a word was a military veteran who had health issues, authorities said Monday.
Officers fatally shot Harold Joseph Collins on Sunday afternoon in the lobby of the police headquarters in Southfield, and a 50-year-old sergeant was hurt in the exchange of fire.
Authorities were investigating what might have prompted the shootout. A preliminary investigation indicates Collins had medical problems, but it is not clear if that had any bearing on his actions, Southfield police Chief Eric Hawkins told reporters.