The father and son who were found hanging from a tree in the backyard of their suburban Ohio home over the weekend have been identified as an Army veteran and a recent high school graduate.
Mark Rittenhouse, 48, and his 18-year-old son Ryan Rittenhouse were discovered by a neighbor around 1:30 p.m. Sunday behind their family home in the 900 block of Westedge in Tipp City, according to police. Tipp City is a quiet suburban city just outside of Dayton, Ohio.
Mark Rittenhouse served in the U.S. Army but suffered from a disability and was out of work at the time of his death, according to Tipp City police Sgt. Chris Graham, who is handling the investigation.
His son Ryan was a graduate of Tippecanoe High School, the only high school in the small, unassuming town. They leave behind a wife and mother, Tonya Rittenhouse. Tonya and Mark Rittenhouse had no other children, according to police.
"Her whole family disappeared at once, so you can imagine [how she's doing]," Sgt. Graham said Tuesday.
According to the 911 call uncovered by the Troy Daily News, a distraught neighbor was the first to spot and report the men, telling the dispatcher, "My neighbors hung themselves. They are hanging in the backyard. I don't know if they are still alive or not."
Both were dead by the time officers arrived at the home soon after.
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Other police reports allude to the bodies of the men being noticed earlier in the day, Sgt. Graham said, proving that the two may have carried out the suicides as early as 9 a.m. that morning before they were found hours later.
Preliminary autopsy results released Tuesday confirmed Miami County Coroner Dr. William Ginn's ruling of both deaths to be a suicide by hanging. Toxicology results won't be available for several weeks.
Police say they do believe they have an idea why the men carried out the suicides, but that has yet to be released until their family is notified. When asked if the father and son left a note with their bodies, Sgt. Graham said that information will be released as well when the mother and wife they left behind has been updated on all the findings of the investigation.
"I can tell you that we are not investigating a criminal element to this at all," Graham said. "There's nothing other than what you've heard up to this point, just that it's a double suicide."
A social media page for a Ryan Rittenhouse that graduated from the same school and hails from Tipp City shows multiple photos and posts that illustrate a strong bond between him and his father in what would seem from the unknowing outside viewer to be a normal Midwest family and loving upbringing.
In one, a man who is tagged as Mark Rittenhouse can be seen smiling and looking down at a Ryan Ritterhouse, who looks to be just a toddler at the time of the photo.
In another image, ironically one of Ryan Rittenhouse's last public posts, the two can be seen sitting at a restaurant deep in conversation together, with the caption that reads, "I guess I take after him, that was pure accident."
