The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department is focusing its investigation on why Alan Atwater killed his family and himself, authorities said.

A report by Dr. Jerome McTague issued Tuesday said all five members of the family died of single gunshot wounds to the head, which was consistent with evidence found at the scene.

Other than traffic violations, Alan Atwater, 31, had no criminal record and that even the traffic citations were not drug or alcohol related.

His voice on the 9-1-1 call isn’t emotional as he tells a dispatcher with the sheriff’s department his wife and three children are dead and he intends to kill himself.

The call occurred at 12:11 a.m. on April 16, according to the sheriff’s department, and the department’s Special Response Team established a perimeter around the two-story farmhouse at 964 Leutz Road, Oak Harbor.

After repeatedly trying to contact Atwater by phone and loudspeaker, sheriff’s deputies at 2:52 a.m. forced their way in through the front door.

The bodies of Atwater and his family were all found upstairs.

Investigators have identified those found dead as Dawn Atwater, 30; Ashley Atwater, 4; Isaac Atwater, 2; Brady Atwater, 1 ½, and Alan Atwater, 31.

The sheriff’s department said Alan was employed in the maintenance department at the Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station.
 
 

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