CANADA • Cameron REEVE, 2 ~ Waterloo ON

Father killed son, 2, then self, police say
February 25, 2011

WATERLOO — Police are trying to untangle the final, horrific minutes inside a Lincoln Road apartment building that ended with a toddler murdered and his father dead of apparent suicide.

Investigators say the body of Cameron Reeve, 2, was found late Thursday afternoon by his mother. The body of his father, Edward Cameron Sheldon, 40, was nearby, dead of what appears to be asphyxiation after inhaling helium.

Detectives are still hoping an autopsy can help explain exactly how the boy died — but they know it was intentional and at his father's hand.

Paramedics, who were called to the 10-storey brick apartment building at 130 Lincoln Rd. Thursday afternoon, found both the boy and his father without vital signs. They were declared dead at the scene by the coroner.

For the first officers and paramedics on the scene, it was a grim discovery.

“It's very, very difficult for emergency workers to see a dead child . . . It's extremely sad, of course, because many of them are parents themselves,” said Waterloo Region Police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel. “Hearing the news that a child died at the hands of his father, makes it doubly difficult.”

Residents of the building said there was no warning of trouble with the family, who had only moved in three months ago.

Karin MacLean said the building is quiet, and made up of a lot of seniors, but no one knew the family well.

“I just talked to the mother briefly when we went up and down the elevator, that's about it,” she said.

MacLean doesn't live in the building – her mother lives in an apartment on the sixth floor – but they often visit other residents just a couple doors away from the family's apartment.

“They seemed happy because (the father) was always carrying the boy, and he'd ride the bicycle in the hallway,” MacLean said.

“We'd just see him come and carry the boy over his shoulder and he would play with the boy in the hallway, that's all we've seen of them. Everybody was shocked.”

Child-welfare advocates, meanwhile, are reeling over the region's third child murder since July.

Cambridge's Rayna Gagne, 4, died earlier this month of head trauma. Her stepfather stands accused in her death. Four-month-old Kayleigh Ingram-Summers, also of Cambridge, died July 12. Her father has been charged with second degree murder.

“This is unprecedented for me to see three deaths like this, especially so close together. It's an absolute tragedy,” said Alison Scott, executive director of Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region. “I've never seen this before.”

Her agency has seen a spike in calls for help from parents who are under a lot of stress, much of it financial, she said. She urged any parent needing help to call her office at 519 576-0540.

“Parenting young children can be very stressful . . . and, if that gets complicated with any underlying mental health issues, domestic violence, or past trauma that a parent may have had . . . that can make some situations very complex,” Scott said. “But most child homicides can't be predicted.”

In this case, there were no reports of a domestic dispute prior to the discovery of the bodies, Heinzel said. He couldn't comment on whether mental health played an issue in the deaths.

It appears the father used common, store-bought helium — the kind used to fill balloons — to kill himself.

“It's believed he consumed sufficient amounts of helium to deprive his body of oxygen,” Heinzel said.

Helium inhalation is well-documented on the internet as a common method of suicide, usually through devices known as “exit bags.”

Police couldn't comment on how the boy may have died, however.

“Investigators have an idea of what occurred, but they're waiting on some test results for some confirmation,” Heinzel said.

Even seasoned officers have been struggling with this one, he said.

“As sad as this is, we'd do well to say it's important every parent who reads this story takes a moment to hug their children and tell them they love them,” he said.

Homicide detectives, investigators from the police's Waterloo branch, forensic identification officers and the coroner's office continue to probe the case.

Anyone with information in the deaths, is asked to contact Waterloo Regional Police at 519 650-8500, ext. 8669, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222-8477.

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/492873--police-probe-death-at-waterloo-apartment-building

********** **********

Police probe how father killed toddler son
February 28, 2011

WATERLOO — Waterloo Regional Police say they are still trying to determine how a 2 ½-year-old boy was killed by his father in their Waterloo home.

Staff Sgt. Chris Downey, head of homicide, said the autopsy of Cameron Reeve is complete but further tests related to microscopic testing are being conducted. Police plan to release how the child died later this week.

Downey said the 40-year-old father, Edward Cameron Sheldon, suffered with “pretty severe” depression.

Sheldon murdered his son and then killed himself by asphyxiation after inhaling helium.

The lifeless pair was found by the child’s mother who came home after work to the horrific scene on Thursday afternoon, Downey said Monday.

The three lived together as a family in an apartment on Lincoln Road, Downey said. There are no other children.

A private memorial will be held on Wednesday for Sheldon and his son, police said. The couple has family members in the region.

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/494358--police-probe-how-father-killed-toddler-son

********** **********

Man who killed young son was worried about boy’s development, co-worker says
March 03, 2011


Edward Sheldon

WATERLOO REGION — A Kitchener man who worked with Edward Cameron Sheldon at a Cambridge call centre said he was quiet and reserved but a kind man who gave him a ride home every day.

Ryan Tarkington, 27, said he worked at iQor Corporation as a customer service representative with Sheldon for three months. The pair worked an afternoon shift from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Pinebush Road business.

Each night, Sheldon drove Tarkington home.

“He was not an upbeat guy but we had some conversations in the car,’’ he said.

Tarkington said Sheldon spoke of his son, Cameron Reeve, 2 ½, once and showed him a photograph of the boy. He was concerned that his son wasn’t walking yet.

Sheldon and his son were found lifeless in their Lincoln Road apartment on Feb. 24. Sheldon’s wife came home from work to find the bodies.

Waterloo Regional Police said Sheldon killed his son and then himself by asphyxiation after inhaling helium.

The first emergency crews on the scene were Waterloo firefighters. Many of them were shaken by the deaths, said Deputy Chief Larry Brassard.

Read more

********** **********

Toddler drowned by father, post-mortem reveals
March 11, 2011

Waterloo regional police confirmed Friday that a Waterloo toddler found dead in his home last month died in the family bathtub at the hands of his father.

A post mortem determined that 2 1/2-year-old Cameron Reeve drowned, police said in a news release.

The child’s 40-year-old father, Edward Cameron Sheldon, who suffered from depression, killed himself by asphyxiation after inhaling helium, police said earlier.

The boy and his father were found lifeless in their Lincoln Road apartment on Feb. 24. Sheldon’s wife came home from work to find the bodies.

The police investigation has concluded.

There is help.

Distress Line: 519-745-1166

Youth Line: 519-745-9909

Crisis services of Waterloo Region: 519-744-1813

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/499462--toddler-drowned-by-father-post-mortem-reveals