Husband fatally shoots wife, himself
HOPEDALE, Ohio (AP) -- A murder-suicide has left six children orphaned just days before Thanksgiving, police said.
Authorities in Harrison County in eastern Ohio said Lynda Bartlett, 30, was shot and killed at home Saturday night by her husband, John Bartlett, 45, who then fatally shot himself with a 9mm weapon.
The children -- two girls and four boys ages 4 to 12 -- were all home at the time, Sheriff Mark Miller said Tuesday.
Went to get help
Miller said the oldest boy heard his mother screaming from a locked bedroom and ran to a neighbor for help in this rural community 15 miles west-southwest of Steubenville.
Several of the children had fled outside to the porch by the time Hopedale Police Chief Ron Bone arrived, the sheriff said. He credited the chief with helping get the children off the property to a neighbor's home.
"They were all upset. They are just young kids. It's something they'll live with the rest of their life," he said.
A law-enforcement chaplain was called to comfort the children, who were placed together in a relative's home after the shooting.
Argument led to shooting
According to Miller, the Bartletts were arguing Saturday when John ordered Lynda into the bedroom and locked the door. The children said they heard their mother yelling that their father was going to shoot her.
The children heard three shots, according to Miller, who declined to specify the nature of the argument.
A special response team of the sheriff's department, after waiting 15 minutes to 20 minutes, found the bodies.
"It's a shame something like this happened. I am so thankful the children did not get hurt," Miller said.
Miller said Bartlett had his own car repair business in a garage on his property. Lynda Bartlett stayed home raising her children.