Two found shot dead in daycare center parking lot

FAIRFIELD (AP) — A man and woman were found dead Monday with gunshot wounds to the head in a vehicle parked at a southwest Ohio day care center, police said.

Day care center workers quickly locked it down and pulled the blinds, so children were safely inside and unaware of the grisly discovery. They said afterward they didn’t recognize the people or their names — or know why they wound up dead in the parking lot.

“Not in a setting like this, not at a child care center,” said Bonnie Roby of Columbus, who owns nine Jelly Bean Junction day care centers in Ohio. “I’ve been in the business 30 years and never had anything like this happen.”

A maintenance worker saw a man slumped inside a sport utility vehicle, waved, and noticed the man was unresponsive, leading to a 911 call at around 9:15 a.m., about three hours after the day care center opened along a busy suburban intersection.

There were no other injuries, said Fairfield police Lt. Kevin Haddix, and he said police won’t speculate on what happened pending an autopsy Tuesday.

“At this point, we’re just not going to leave any option off the table,” Haddix said.

Police identified the woman as Evelyn Restituyo, 46, of Colerain Township, and the man as Francisco Restituyo, 47, of Liberty Township, both suburban townships near Fairfield. Police weren’t sure whether they were still married.

Haddix told The JournalNews of Hamilton that a handgun was found inside the vehicle, but that authorities won’t know whether it was used in the shootings until it is tested. Officials from the Butler County coroner’s office said the man’s body was found in the front seat and the woman’s in the back.

The SUV was parked next to a trash bin about a dozen spaces from the front door and in front of a fenced-in playground at the center in this city some 20 miles north of Cincinnati.