In the quiet village of Gnadenhutten, Ohio, a community of just over 1,200 people, Melissa E. Campbell, 51, and Gale F. Sanders, 67, were known for the devoted care they provided to their grandson. The boy, 1-year-old Kozzar J. Lotut, was a toddler with medical disabilities who relied on the regular help of his grandparents. Neighbors in the small Tuscarawas County village would remember the 22-month-old for his memorable smile.
The peace of their lives was irrevocably shattered in the
pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, October 21, 2026. At approximately 4:17 a.m., a call was placed to the Tuscarawas County 911 Dispatch Center, but it was disconnected almost immediately. The call was too brief for dispatchers to trace its location. They repeatedly called the number back, and during one of these attempts, a dispatcher heard a voice faintly and softly say the word, "help."
The plea for help launched a difficult search. Authorities discovered that the phone used to make the call was a spare device that its owner had loaned to an associate, a detail that complicated efforts to find the person in distress. Dispatchers and deputies from the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office worked to track the phone, investigating several possible locations before learning it might be at a home on North Cherry Street in Gnadenhutten.
When they arrived at the residence, they met a family member who had been sleeping elsewhere on the property. This relative unlocked the door, allowing law enforcement to enter the home. Inside, they made a devastating discovery. Kozzar, his grandmother Melissa, and his grandfather Gale were all found deceased. Each had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. A firearm was located at the scene near one of the adults.
The investigation was handled by Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Detectives, in cooperation with the Gnadenhutten Police Department and the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office. From the outset, Sheriff Orvis Campbell stated that based on evidence found at the scene, investigators strongly believed the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide and that there was no ongoing danger to the public. "Most of the evidence is pointing towards one of the one specific person inside being the shooter because of the position of the gun and other information we've learned from family members," Sheriff Campbell said shortly after the discovery.
However, he stressed that the conclusion was preliminary and that a definitive determination would await further forensic testing. Interviews with other family members indicated there had been no warning signs of impending violence. Relatives had seen the grandparents outside with the child the previous evening, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The sheriff did note that the investigation had raised concerns about possible unaddressed mental health issues within the family, though no specific motive had been established.
The bodies of Kozzar, Melissa Campbell, and Gale Sanders were transported to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies to officially determine the cause and manner of death for each of them. Sheriff Campbell praised the coroner's office for the compassion and care they showed while handling the young boy's remains.
As of late October 2026, the investigation was still considered active pending the final results of the autopsies. The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office planned to release more information once all the necessary facts had been gathered and verified. The case was ultimately closed with the primary suspect identified as deceased, confirming the initial belief that the tragedy occurred entirely within the home on North Cherry Street.
