A 13-year-old boy and three other family members were discovered dead and a fourth was found critically injured at a home in New Richmond, Ohio. The murder-suicide, carried out by the family’s mother, happened on the morning of February 27, and deputies encountered the gruesome scene while attempting to serve an eviction notice.
After hearing gunshots, and upon trying and failing to reach the residents, deputies entered the home and found five victims. Four of them were already dead and have been identified as Steven Cain, aged 50, Theresa Cain, aged 46, Ethan Cain, aged 13, and William Felton, aged 74, Teresa Cain’s father. According to the sheriff’s office, the only survivor was Samantha Cain, 20, who was transported for treatment and is currently in critical but stable condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The school district is mourning the loss of young Ethan Cain, who was a middle school student, and community members are praying for the recovery of Samantha Cain, who is a graduate of New Richmond High School and in her second year of college.
Speaking of 13-year-old Ethan, Tracey Miller, the New Richmond School District superintendent, said that a brilliant young life had been destroyed. According to Miller, instructors had focused on speaking to mourning students and providing a team of counselors. Students had left letters for Ethan on a bulletin board, with messages of sorrow and remembrance.
Miller described his sister Samantha as a lovely, intellectual, and brilliant young woman. Everyone knows everyone in a tiny school district; every loss is felt.