3 shot dead in US; girl taken, found safe in Ohio

Jul 28, 2012 |

Ohio
Quincy

Tags:

crime
murder

A man in south-central Pennsylvania confronting his wife about custody arrangements for their daughter shot to death three people, then fled with the 4-year-old girl before the two were found about 400 kilometres away in Ohio, authorities said on Saturday.

Kevin Matthew Cleeves was trying to contact his wife on Friday to make arrangements to pick up his daughter Leia, but she didn't answer the phone, so he went to a home in Quincy Township, the (Waynesboro) Record-Herald reported, citing court records.

Police said Cleeves, 35, found a woman and man sitting in a car and began arguing with them, then was ordered to leave. He then shot to death both of them and another woman and took the girl, authorities alleged.

An alert was issued on Friday night but was cancelled hours later after the pair were found in Austintown in northeastern Ohio, outside Youngstown. Cleeves was arrested in the three last deaths Friday night in Quincy Township, Pennsylvania state police Trooper Adam Reed.

Police had said earlier that Cleeves should be considered 'armed and dangerous as well as suicidal'. Cleeves was charged with three counts of criminal homicide today, according to court records.

Reed would not give other information about the deaths, including the names of the victims and their relationship to Cleeves, but said more details would be released later today. Court records did not list an attorney for Cleeves.

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