A Louisiana grandfather, 60-year-old Leroy Sadler, is believed to have shot dead his wife, son, and his two-year-old granddaughter moments before turning the gun on himself. This incident takes place days before other notorious similar incidents, making three reported triple murder-suicides in a week.
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According to the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and as reported by PEOPLE, the incident took place on May 6 at around 7 a.m. Deputies had arrived at a Keithville residence in response to a wellness check. An individual, reportedly Sadler, refused to talk or engage with the deputies. Moments later, a single gunshot was heard inside the house.
By using a drone, deputies were able to find four deceased individuals inside the house. Besides Leroy Sadler, authorities would later identify Judy Sadler, 64, Leroy’s wife, James Sadler, 29, Leroy’s son, and Adalynn Mae Sadler, 2, Leroy’s granddaughter, as the three remaining bodies. All were found having suffered from gunshot wounds.
According to KBTX, officials believe that Leroy Sadler murdered his family only to turn the gun on himself after deputies attempted to communicate with him during the wellness check.
‘He Loved That Baby So Much’
Adallyn’s mother, Kara Hanning, would later reveal the moment she found out about the horrifying event. As per KBTX, she became worried after several of her friends messaged her about the incident, asking her about Adalynn, given the reports of the violent incident on the Sadlers’s street.
Hanning would contact Adalynn’s babysitter, asking her if her two-year-old had been dropped off. The babysitter said that she hadn’t. The increasingly worrying mother then attempted to contact James, the girl’s father, and even Leroy, his father, to no avail. She left work earlier and drove to the house. She was met by police officers, and Hanning learned the devastating truth.
“I lost it, I did, because I don’t think anybody would want to lose their baby like that,” Hanning said.
According to her, he can’t get her head around the idea of Leroy Adler ever hurting Adalynn. In her own words, “he loved that baby so much.”
“He did love her,” Hanning added. “I don’t know what caused this to happen or what he must have been going through.” “I feel terrible because I wish he had asked for help.”
While the investigation continues, Kara Hanning stated that she “can’t hate” her father. She even went to the extent of forgiving him, saying, “I have no hate in my heart for that man.”
Triple Murder-Suicides
While the cases are unrelated, a recent trend of triple murder-homicides has been reported throughout the United States.
Four days after Leroy Sadler reportedly killed his family before dying by suicide, a Nebraska man named Jeremy Koch, 42, stabbed his wife and his two sons to death before taking his own life on May 10.
Koch had displayed worrying signs of mental health struggles throughout the years, with his wife, Bailey, posting online that he had multiple suicide attempts in the past. Koch ended up murdering his family, including his 18-year-old son, Hudson, who was supposed to graduate that very same day.
One day later, on May 11, Montana police found the bodies of Nicholas Olson-Hartley, his wife, and their two daughters inside their residence. The eldest girl was six years old, with the youngest being a 7-month-old baby. It is believed that Olson-Hartley shot his family dead before calling 911, making “multiple concerning statements to dispatch.”
After hanging up the phone, Olson-Hartley reportedly shot himself dead.