Tonya Hawks

Case record: Tonya Hawks

Background

Tonya Hawks was the mother of three sons. She worked at the Behr Thermal Plant in Dayton and later at the company Englewood Precision Inc., where she worked for several years.

Court records showed a woman whose life was in constant turmoil in recent years, with her Dayton home lost to bankruptcy and a series of relationships in tatters.

A co-worker described Hawks as a model employee and cool-headed, and another described her as energetic and someone who was not afraid to approach a plant general manager with constructive suggestions. Hawks plastered photos of her sons inside and outside of her locker at the Behr Thermal Plant.

The offence

Eight days before the bodies of Tonya Hawks and her three young sons were found shot to death Feb. 11 in their Phillipsburg home, she bought a semi-automatic handgun.

Dr. James Davis, the Montgomery County coroner, said Hawks used the High Point .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol on her sons, Chase Love, 5, Chole Love, 4, and Hunter Hawks, 2, then turned it on herself Feb. 7. Davis said all four died of chest wounds. Chase and Hunter were shot twice; the others had single bullet wounds.

Chase and Hunter were found in the master bedroom. The other boy was in a chair in the first-floor living room. Tonya’s body was found in the bathroom on the floor. The gun was on the sofa in the living room.

Davis said, “It’s possible that the single gunshot wound was not immediately fatal.”

Investigators continued to gather evidence after autopsies were completed Sunday. Montgomery Sheriff’s Maj. Ed Copher said autopsy results showed all four deaths were caused by gunshot wounds, but investigators were still trying to determine if one of the four had shot the others then committed suicide, or if all the victims were slain by someone else.

Investigation

Dr. James Davis said the deaths were confirmed as a murder-suicide with help from a note found by investigators.

Montgomery County Sheriff Dave Vore said investigators found a page-long note in a child’s backpack a day after the bodies were discovered. Vore said, “It wasn’t addressed to anyone in particular, but it had instructions directing a family member to … handle her personal business.” Davis said the note helped confirm for the coroner’s office that the deaths were a murder-suicide.

Investigators interviewed Hawks’ boyfriend, who had recently moved out, but found nothing suspicious. The boyfriend’s name had not been released by authorities in the later report.

Arrest

No arrest was described.

Trial

No trial was described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeal was described.

Outcome

Tonya Hawks and her three sons were found shot to death in their Phillipsburg home Feb. 11. Dr. James Davis said Hawks killed her sons and then turned the gun on herself on Feb. 7, and that all four died of chest wounds.

Aftermath

Neighbors called Clay Township police Saturday because they saw no activity for four days while a dog barked inside, and the house remained dark even though the family’s car was parked outside.

While police were on the way, a woman looked in the window and saw one of the boys, Copher said.

Michael Hines, who lived across the street, said he used his shoulder to break through the front door after another neighbor told him a child inside might need help. Hines said:

“As soon as I entered the living room I found the first child in the chair,” Hines said Sunday.

Hines said he could see another body lying on the floor behind a door through a gap at the bottom. Hines said:

“I spotted the gun on the couch and that’s when I left the house,” he said.

The father of two of the children followed Hines inside, rushed to his child in the chair and then ran back outside. Hines said:

“It’s something you don’t want to see,” he said.

Montgomery Sheriffs Maj. Ed Copher said the mother’s body was discovered in the bathroom. The two younger boys were found dressed in pajamas in bed, and the 5-year-old was found, also in pajamas, in an easy chair in the living room. Copher identified the children as 5-year-old Chase Love, 4-year-old Cole Love and 2-year-old Hunter Hawks. They appeared to have been dead for several days.

Tonya Hawks had moved into the rented one-floor white frame house in late summer with her boyfriend. A neighbor said the couple worked at an auto plant in Dayton, about 15 miles southeast of this one-stoplight bedroom community on a two-lane highway. Copher said, “The house was secure. Nothing would suggest that it was an intruder.” Copher added, “It didn’t appear there was a struggle or anything.”

Autopsies were completed Sunday, and investigators returned to the house Sunday to collect further evidence and would ask the crime lab to perform tests Monday.

Friends described their disbelief at what happened. Wayne Owens, who worked with Hawks for several years at Englewood Precision Inc., said Hawks had told a friend:

“If anybody ever messes with my boys, I'll kill 'em,” Tonya Hawks once told her friend Wayne Owens.

Owens said:

“I will never understand it,” Owens said.
“This is not the Tonya I knew. Something has happened to change her from the person who lived her life for her kids to someone who would take their lives.”

Co-worker Kari Shields said:

“She loved those boys. They were her whole life.”

Co-worker Kari Shields also said:

“You didn't know her. She wasn't a monster. She absolutely loved those boys.”

Plant general manager Dean Arneson described Hawks as energetic and someone who was not afraid to approach him with constructive suggestions.

The report included a description of women who kill their children from Wright State University professor Cheryl Meyer. Meyer said:

“Let me guess,” she speculated.
“She was a devoted mother, right?”

Meyer explained:

“These are extraordinarily devoted moms. I know that sounds like an oxymoron because they killed their kids, but the bottom line is they see their kids almost as an extension of themselves, like an appendage. So it only makes sense (in the mother's mind) to kill the kids, because if you're getting rid of yourself, there's a reason to get rid of the kids as well.”

Meyer said:

“Tonya Hawks so fits the pattern it's almost amazing,” said Meyer.

Meyer added:

“Typically, they're younger, and when a mom kills her kids, in the majority of cases, she almost always kills them all and she almost always has a plan to kill herself,” Meyer said.

Meyer said:

“They're described, by and large, as devoted and loving mothers,” Meyer said.

Meyer said:

“People are shocked they did this and most of the time (the mothers) have experienced a recent loss, either through death or divorce. They use very, very sure methods to kill their children. They know it's going to be successful; they use a fire, or guns or knives.”

Co-worker Kari Shields asked:

“That's the question on people's minds at Behr Dayton Thermal Products LLC plant, where Hawks worked since February 2004.”

The later report also stated Hawks had been two weeks away from a final divorce decree with Brent D. Hawks, father of the youngest son, Hunter. It stated her wedding anniversary with Brent Hawks was one week away from Valentine’s Day.

Cheryl Meyer and co-author Michelle Oberman were described estimating that one child dies at the hands of the mother every three to four days in the United States. Meyer said:

“I think it's something in a lot of people's dark recesses,” she said.

Meyer said:

“Several mothers have told her so.”

Meyer also said:

“The mothers usually fall into one of five categories: those who kill their babies within the first 24 hours of birth; those who kill through neglect; those who kill through the assistance or coercion of a partner; those who kill through abuse; and those, like Hawks, who deliberately kill their children.”

Other details

A handgun was recovered in the neat and orderly home. Investigators were described as lacking complete details in public reports and said police did not release all information to protect a case and avoid people jumping to conclusions.

The gun was described as on the sofa in the living room.