NORTHFIELD CENTER, Ohio -- The deadly Summit County house explosion that claimed the lives of four people in January has been declared a murder / suicide.
Gary Guenther of the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office released the information early Thursday morning.
“It is unclear which parent is responsible for the death of the two children or how the children were asphyxiated and we will not speculate on the circumstances,” the Medical Examiner’s Office states.
PHOTOS | Northfield house explosion
Guenther says the two children and a 43-year-old woman were dead before the blaze ignited.
Below is a list detailing each death and cause:
Jeffrey Michael Mather, 43 years old: Cause of death is thermal injury with full body burns. Manner of death is suicide. Authorities say the victim burned himself after using gasoline to set fire to the residence.
Cynthia Lynn Mather, 43 years old: Cause of death is acute fluoxetine poisoning (Prozac). Guenther says it's unclear if her death was a suicide or homicide. She had died without evidence of smoke inhalation.
Alyson Rose Mather, 12 years old: Cause of death is probable asphyxial mechanism of uncertain type. Manner of death is homicide.
Ruth Ann Mather, 8 years old: Cause of death is probable asphyxial mechanism of uncertain type. Manner of death is homicide.
The explosion rocked the home at 7486 Skyhaven Road on Jan. 11.
Bill Holland is an investigator with the Summit County Sheriff's Office and says there are still questions of how Cynthia Mather died.
"At this point it could be a homicide, it could be a suicide; it could be an accidental overdose," he said, "Which is a little more unlikely."
They have had a difficult time making sense of the losses.
"It's tough," Holland said. "I don't care how many years you have on the job, it's tough to deal with."