Family Grieves Deaths Of Two Small Children

The mother of a toddler found dead in an Allen Park  apartment says the child's father told her the girl was running around the same morning the girl and another young child were found dead. 

Nineteen-year-old Tayler Stafford of Melvindale said she heard from 15-month-old Ella Stafford's father early Tuesday. Stafford says she's "absolutely devastated'' by the death.

Allen Park police say the bodies of Ella and 13-month old Jonathon Sanderlin were found after their father called 911 shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday to report they had drowned in the bathtub.

  That 27-year-old father is now in custody and cooperating with investigators.

Officials say they don't yet have a good idea of exactly what happened in that apt. At a vigil Tuesday night in Allen Park, Janice Perry, an aunt of the father, said she wants to know the truth.

"I wanna hear my nephew ... to talk to him. We don't know what happened. I mean we don't know ... did he fall asleep ... what happened," Perry said to WWJ's Stephanie Davis, who attended the vigil.

Charges have yet to be filed in this case, and autopsies were planned. Police say they don't expect to release new information until Thursday.

For more on this story, click here.

(Copyright, 2010. WWJ Newsradio 950, All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)