Carbon Monoxide Poisoning kills dad, 7 Kids in Maryland

Carbon monoxide poisoning is considered to be the cause in the deaths of a southern Maryland father and his seven children, according to The New York Times.

Bonnie and Lloyd Edwards, identified themselves to the Associated Press as the mother and stepfather of Rodney Todd, 36, whom they identified as the adult who died. They said Todd had seven children, including five girls and two boys.

They identified the deceased only as an adult and seven young people ages 6 to the teens.
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They said the cause of the deaths was still under investigation. Bonnie and Lloyd Edwards, encountered outside the home by a reporter from The Associated Press, identified themselves as the mother and stepfather of Rodney Todd, 36, whom they identified as the adult who died. They said Todd had seven children, including five girls and two boys. The Edwardses said police told them the family died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Todd's mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Lloyd Edwards, told The Associated Press that a utility firm had cut off his electricity because of an outstanding bill.

"To keep his seven children warm, [Todd] bought a generator," Lloyd Edwards told the AP. "It went out and the carbon monoxide consumed them."

The couple added that police had informed them the family was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. Officials told NBC News the official cause of death was pending a medical examiner's report Tuesday.

Bonnie Edwards identified the children as boys Cameron Todd, 13, and Zycheim Todd, 7; and girls Tynijuiza Todd, 15; Tykira Todd, 12; Tybree Todd, 10; Tyania Todd, 9; and Tybria Todd, 6.

Lloyd Edwards said when police told them Todd had died, "It was disbelief."