Dad kills daughter, 3, his mother and self in Manchester Twp., cops say
Three people were found dead inside a Manchester Township home in a murder-suicide that police say was apparently a planned act or pact between two of the deceased.
Tammy June Williams, 50; Frankie Thomas Williams, 21; and Kelly June Williams, 3, were all found dead with gunshot wounds to the head in a home in the 700 block of Greenbriar Road, according to Northern York County Regional Police.
Frankie Williams allegedly had warned Makayla Lane, Kelly's mother, that he'd kill Lane and her family if she tried to get custody of their daughter, according to court documents.
The York County Coroner ruled the deaths of Tammy and Kelly Williams as homicides and Frankie Williams as suicide. There will be no autopsies.
WATCH: What neighbors saw before double murder-suicide
READ: York County man, 79, killed in police-involved shooting
READ: Distinguished Young Women participant left unconscious after hit-and-run
READ: Spring Grove motorcyclist killed in Conewago Twp. crash
Officers found them just before 11 p.m. Sunday after responding to the residence for a welfare check. A woman from North Carolina had told police she was expecting to meet the residents of the home in Virginia on Saturday for a child custody exchange, police said.
As police checked the exterior of the home, a dog inside moved a curtain enough that officers could see inside, and they saw a woman lying on a coach with obvious injuries. Officers forced entry and found Tammy June Williams dead. Checking the home, the officers also found Kelly June Williams in a bedroom and Frankie Williams in a different bedroom.
Frankie Williams had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.
"Information located on scene indicates that this was a planned act or pact between Tammy June Williams and her son, Frankie Thomas Williams," police said in a news release. Lane, Kelly's mother, had recently filed for full custody.
Lane declined to comment.
RELATED: Father warned he'd kill family, documents say
John Connelly, a neighbor, said he saw the little girl playing outside sometime over the weekend, but he couldn't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday.
"To have seen that little girl just a day or so ago, that's what keeps going through my mind," Connelly said Monday. "I don't think what happened was her choice, and it's just tragic."
Connelly lives across the street from the home, which once belonged to his wife's family. He said he saw the family move in within the past month or two, and he had not yet had a chance to say hello.
"I thought maybe in the spring or summer we'd say hi," Connelly said.
He doesn't think there's anything that he could have done to stop what happened, but he couldn't help wonder whether just making a human connection could have made a difference. "I wish I would have gone over and said hi or something. Maybe sometimes that people connection gives someone a little pause."
Connelly and his wife noticed police cars outside the home on Sunday night and thought maybe there had been a burglary. Connelly said he went outside to ask an officer what happened, and the officer told him to go back inside.
Police at the scene Monday did not talk with reporters.
READ: 48 hours in York County: Homicides, suicide, pedestrians struck
Ada and Clyde Shimmel live two doors down from the house but didn't hear or see anything unusual this weekend. The Shimmels, who have lived in their Manchester Township home since 1967, had seen Kelly playing in the backyard but hadn't spoken to their new neighbors yet.
"It gives you cold chills to thinks it's right next to ya -- or one house between us," Ada Shimmel said.
The home is on Greenbriar Road, about halfway between Roosevelt Avenue and Route 238. Outside, the grass and weeds were starting to grow tall. A hobby horse and child's plastic chair were sitting on the driveway near the backyard, and a plastic child's table was outside the side door.
Neighbors said the street is pretty busy, including some occasional truck traffic that can be noisy. Some guessed that's why they didn't hear anything or notice any gunshots.
Melissa Smith, executive director of the York County SPCA, said the SPCA received two dogs from the home. Both were unharmed, Smith said, and they will be staying in the care of the SPCA until further notice.
Anyone with information is asked to call Northern York County Regional Police at 717-292-3647 or through 911.