A Louisiana mother is speaking out after the devastating loss of her 2-year-old daughter, Adalynn Mae Sadler, who was killed in what authorities describe as a murder-suicide carried out by her grandfather.
Adalynn was visiting her grandparents’ home in Keithville when she was fatally shot by her grandfather, 60-year-old Leroy Sadler, in the early hours of May 5, according to the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office. Her grandmother, Judy, 64, and father James, 29, were also found dead at the scene.
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In an emotional interview with KSLA, Adalynn’s mother, Kara Hanning, shared her heartbreak just days before she was to bury her only child on Mother’s Day. “I’m completely at a loss for words for that, because he loved that baby so much,” Hanning said, struggling to reconcile the horror of what happened with the loving relationship she believed Adalynn had with her grandfather.
“He did love her, and I don’t know what caused this to happen or what he must have been going through. I feel terrible because I wish he had asked for help,” she added.
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Hanning recounted the sense of dread she felt the morning of the tragedy after hearing something had happened on the street where Adalynn’s grandparents lived. She was at work at the time and immediately called Adalynn’s babysitter, who said the little girl and her father had not arrived that morning.
Panicked, Hanning tried calling Leroy, Judy, and James, but received no response. When she arrived home, detectives were waiting. “And they just looked at me with the saddest expression, and I lost it,” she said. “I did, because I don’t think anybody would want to lose their baby like that.”
Deputies responded to the home on a welfare check just before 7 a.m. on May 6. After attempting to contact someone inside, they heard a single gunshot. Upon entering, they found all four family members deceased.
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Hanning revealed that Leroy had recently suffered multiple emotional blows, including the death of his stepdaughter from cancer and his wife’s declining health. “I feel terrible because I wish he would’ve asked for help for whatever he was going through,” she said.
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Despite everything, Hanning expressed forgiveness. “I can’t hate him. I will never be able to hate him,” she said. “I forgive him for his actions. I wish it never happened, but I have no hate in my heart for that man.” A GoFundMe page has been set up by family members to assist with funeral expenses.
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