2 kids, 2 adults dead in Lithopolis

LITHOPOLIS — The Fairfield County Sheriff's Office has identified the victims of a suspected homicide-suicide in the 300 block of Westview Terrace.

Sheriff Alex Lape identified the victims as Kiara M. Anderson, 29, Joseph R. Anderson, 5, and Jeffrey Anderson, 2. The suspected shooter is Joseph R. Anderson, 30, who was also found deceased in the home.

“Three of the victims appeared to be intentionally killed and the man's death was an apparent suicide,” Lape said.

The sheriff's office received a phone call about a possible shooting shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Lape said the caller had received that information second-hand, so deputies checked on the house in question, with the assistance of the Lithopolis Police Department and firefighters from Bloom Township Fire Department.

Upon entry to the house, deputies found the bodies.

Lape said the incident is being investigated as a homicide-suicide. He said, at this time, there is no reason to suspect otherwise. The scene is still being processed.