A Maryland family of a divorced man and his seven kids has been found dead. They were reportedly poisoned by fumes from a generator they used after their electricity was cut off due to unpaid bills.
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The bodies of the man Rodney Todd and his children – two boys and five girls – were found in their house in Princess Ann, 140 miles to southeast of Baltimore, a week after they were last seen alive.
Stephanie Wells, supervisor at the nearby University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where Todd was a kitchen worker, appealed to the police after he went to Todd’s house on Monday morning, knocked at the door, but got no answer.
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Neighbors said they had also knocked on the doors. Leo Lawson, a spokesman for Somerset County Schools, said school personnel had been looking for the children as well, but could not find out if anybody was at home.
Princess Anne Police Chief Scott Keller said a gasoline-powered generator found in the kitchen with no gasoline left caused suggestions that they are most likely to die from carbon monoxide poisoning as no signs of foul play were found. He added the cause of death is still being investigated. Keller also confirmed that the electricity had been turned off.
Todd’s close friend Sarah Hardy told AP he had some welfare money, but not enough to pay the overdue bills.
“The mother left, not only the seven kids by Rodney, but she left her oldest son with him as well. She abandoned him and the kids,” Hardy added.
A spokesman for Delmarva Power, the company responsible for electricity supplies said it’s investigating the incident.
Tom VanLandingham, who directs the Office of Home Energy Programs in Somerset County, said Todd used to receive subsidies to pay utility bills in the past, but did not apply for help this year.
When his divorce with Tyisha Luniece Chambers was completed last September, Todd got full custody of the children.
Bonnie Edwards, Todd’s mother, identified the children as boys Cameron, 13, and Zycheim, 7, and girls Tynijuiza, 15, Tykira, 12, Tybree, 10, Tyania, nine, and Tybria, 6.
Rodney Todd spent 16 months in jail for assaulting his wife in a domestic dispute, Hardy said, explaining that “he came home, caught her in bed with another man, and the man was abusing the kids. He took his seven kids and her son and raised them on his own.”
The estranged wife denied that she left the kids, insisting she used to pay child support.
“He wasn’t a single parent. I was in their lives. I don’t have drug problems. I love my kids and I’m sorry their father passed as well.”
Bonnie Edwards said her son was a good father, teaching kids the value of education and respect towards elderly people. Even when he was short of money, he managed to buy a cake and a gift for each child’s birthday.
