911 call: Mother feared man would hurt their children

Police say father killed daughters, then himself

Friday, December 4, 2009 3:06 AM

The mother of two Westerville girls killed by their father early yesterday had feared he might harm them, according to a 911 call to police that was made by the younger girl's principal.

Kathleen Norris, the principal of St. Paul Elementary School in Westerville, called police yesterday after 11-year-old Sarah Dobson failed to show up for school and her father didn't report her absence.

Westerville police said it was the second day that Sarah was absent from school, and her 15-year-old sister, Nicole, also had missed two days at Westerville Central.

The girls and their father were found dead in their home at 813 Westray Dr. on Thursday afternoon. Police said Daniel Dobson had shot the girls before shooting himself.

In her call, Norris was asked by a 911 operator whether Daniel Dobson might harm Sarah.

"Mother feels that, yes, but I have, I have no proof," Norris said. "She was worried."

She described the parents' relationship as "adversarial."

Norris said the school decided to call police after they couldn't reach Daniel Dobson by phone or in person.

Norris said her assistant principal and a guidance counselor went to the house. They found Dobson's truck in the driveway and a porch light on, but no one would answer the door.

"Here's the deal," Norris said. "It's a divorce situation. The father always, always calls in when the girl is sick, and he brings her to school."

She said the girl's mother couldn't explain Sarah's absence was deeply concerned when reached by phone.

"She was pretty upset," Norris said. "I've only been here two years but I guess this has been an ongoing situation."

"They have joint custody," Norris said. "It's not a happy situation, but dad is the one who brings this child every day to school in the morning."

Although the girls were not in school on Wednesday, Westerville Lt. John Petrozzi said detectives believe the girls were killed sometime yesterday morning, possibly before dawn.

What they did during the day on Wednesday is unclear, though he said he believed the girl's mother spoke to one or both girls Wednesday morning, and a neighbor reported seeing Mr. Dobson in his garage about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

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Joe Roland pulled into his driveway yesterday afternoon to see Westerville police next door and friend Joyce Dobson pacing in the front yard.

She walked to his car and told him: "He killed my girls and then himself."

Police say that her ex-husband, Daniel J. Dobson, 44, fatally shot their two daughters, Nicole, 15, and Sarah, 11, and then himself.

Police said all three bodies were found in an upstairs bedroom of his Westerville house at 813 Westray Dr. The girls' bodies were in a bed they were sharing, and their father's was at the foot of the bed. Each had been shot once, police said.

They said that Daniel Dobson left a note, but police wouldn't reveal what it said. The deaths were a shock to neighbors and people who knew the Dobsons from St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westerville.

Roland and his wife, Jossline, live next door to Mr. Dobson, and they said that things had seemed to stabilize for the family after the couple divorced this spring.

Mr. Dobson had stopped by on Monday to deliver some candy they'd ordered from one of the girls and said that Nicole would be available to baby-sit the Rolands' young children.

He invited them to a concert in which Sarah would be playing clarinet.

"That's why it's such a shock," Mrs. Roland said.

One neighbor told police she saw Mr. Dobson in his garage about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Officers went to the house to check on the family after the principal at St. Paul Catholic School called police to express concern because Sarah, a fifth-grader there, hadn't been in class and her father hadn't reported her absent.

Nicole, who also had attended St. Paul when she was younger, was a freshman at Westerville Central High School, a school district spokesman said.

Westerville police contacted the girls' mother, who also lives in Westerville. She has a key to the home and let police into the house. The bodies were found about 1 p.m., police said.

Mr. Dobson was granted a divorce from Joyce Dobson in May, according to Franklin County Domestic Relations Court records. He kept the house and agreed to a shared parenting plan with the mother.

The girls had spent the Thanksgiving weekend with their mother.

"The kids were her life," Mrs. Roland said. "She did everything with the girls."

The father's divorce attorney, Ralph Kerns, was stunned by news of the deaths.

"There's nothing (in the file) that would indicate that this type of thing would ever occur," he said. "He was very pleasant, a man who was very concerned for his children and his family's well-being."

Records show that Mr. Dobson was employed as a civil engineer with the Ohio division of the Federal Highway Administration.

Kendra Carpenter, the mother's attorney, said she hadn't spoken with her client since the divorce was finalized and was unaware of any concerns.

Anita Catalan of Westerville said her daughter was in Sarah's class and played volleyball with her at St. Paul.

Catalan, 39, said Sarah was "very bright, giving and never said a mean word to anyone." She said the girl loved all animals and "even brought some of her favorite good-luck stuffed animals to our volleyball tournament to bring the team extra luck."

She called Sarah "happy-go-lucky all the time."

Catalan also said the family was involved in the parish and that both of the girls' parents regularly attended sporting events.

"Dan was always taking pictures and videos at the games just like a proud dad. That's why this is so shocking," she said. "I had seen them at church and at the school and you would never know anything was wrong." Two memorial Facebook sites were created for the girls yesterday. One had more than 600 people on it commenting on the tragedy.

Another person commented on The Dispatch Web site, saying she knew Nicole from school.

"She was there for me when no one else was," the girl wrote. "I will never forget her. ... Nicole was a kind and generous person who always thought of others."