'My sister, she's got a knife, and she's after my dad'

HEATHER FOWLER

Connre Dixon, 11, of 3380 SR 99, Ridgefield Township, died Monday from a stab wound to the chest, and her foster father, Paul Efaw, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to the Sheriff's Office.

When her foster brother called 911 for help he told them, "I need the police." When asked why by the dispatcher, he replied, "My sister, she's got a knife, and she's after my dad," said the boy.

"How old's your sister?" asked the dispatcher.

The boy starts to say, "Four" and then says, "Eleven."

He inquires as to how long it will take for the deputies to arrive, to which the dispatcher responds, "It will take them not quite 10 minutes to get out there."

The boy then said, "I think I saw blood on her. Oh my God," the boy said twice.

"Do you got anyone to come out here?" asks the boy. "Do you know about how long it will take," he said again.

"No I don't honey, hold on," said the dispatcher.

At that point the dispatcher reaches a deputy who is at US 250 and US 20 in Norwalk, gives him the address and tells him there is a juvenile in distress and a knife is involved.

"It will take them not quite 10 minutes to get out there, honey," the dispatcher then tells the boy. "Where's she at now, honey?" asked the dispatcher.

"They're in this brown barn now, and I think I saw blood on her shorts," said the boy. "She stabbed herself, you think?" asked the dispatcher.

"I don't know ... I didn't see," said the boy.

"Where's your dad at?" asked the dispatcher.

"He's, he ... she said I was getting her mad. I didn't even do anything to her. We had to come out, and my dad had to fix something. I don't know what he had to fix, but we started raking up leaves, and she started shoving me when my dad come out, and they went into the barn and, um, she came back out after he came out and she had a knife behind her back and he asked her what she had behind her back," said the boy.

"Said it would take less than 10 minutes then?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, he's coming lights and sirens," responded the dispatcher.

"Where's your dad at? Is he outside with your sister?" she asked again.

"Yes," the boy responded.

"OK," the dispatcher said.

"He's outside, and he told me come up in an emergency and then he said go in the house and dial 911," said the boy.

The boy offers to stand out by the road while a young girls' voice yells for "Dad" and the boy shouts "Paul" and says he will wait for deputies by the driveway.

"He's still out in the barn trying to calm her down sort of," said the boy.

"Did she stab your dad?" asked the dispatcher.

"Yeah," the boy said.

"Does he need an ambulance?" she asked.

"He said yeah he needs one," the boy replied.

Efaw has told investigators the stabbing was "an accident," according to the sheriff's department. Wednesday evening, he posted a $100,000 bond and was released from the Huron County jail, according to a jail official.

Meanwhile, Monroeville police Chief Mike White, who is running for sheriff against incumbent Dick Sutherland, criticized the Sheriff's Office for not using his department. White said he believes his department could have responded faster than it took for the first deputy to arrive at the scene, he said.

It took the first deputy nine minutes and 42 seconds to arrive on the scene, according to a radio log from the Sheriff's Office.

The Efaw residence "is less than a mile" from the Monroeville Police Department, said White.

"We could have been there sooner," said White. "This kind of exemplifies why we should all be on the same frequency."

Sutherland said he doubted anything could have made a difference as the pathologist's reports indicate the child died two to three minutes after receiving the fatal chest wound.

"Our officers did their job ... and we did it in a timely manner," said Sutherland. "I was advised that nobody would have saved that girl's life. She was beyond saving."

Sutherland added, "This is not dirty politics. This is beyond that.

"Our officers responded in a professional manner. For someone to try to make this a political issue over the death of an 11-year-old girl can demonstrate the type of people I have to deal with politically," said Sutherland.

White agreed with Sutherland that the death of the girl was a significant tragedy saying, "You got an 11-year-old girl here. I don't know if it would have made a difference or not."

Efaw's preliminary hearing is Wednesday, and Huron County Prosecutor Russ Leffler said as the matter is presented to the grand jury, further charges may be filed.