14-05-2025
Grandpa 'loved granddaughter, two, so much'...but then he did the unthinkable
A Louisiana grandfather has left his family searching for answers after he killed his beloved granddaughter, wife and son in a horror murder-suicide spree.
Leroy Sadler, 60, opened fire inside his home in Keithville on May 5, slaughtering everyone inside including his granddaughter Adalynn Mae Sadler, two, before turning the gun on himself.
Deputies were called to a welfare check on the home and found that Leroy refused to speak with them, before they heard gunshots inside.
When they breached the home, they found Leroy's wife Judy Sadler, 64, and his son and Adalynn's father James Sadler, 29, also shot dead.
Investigators have not offered any indication over why the 60-year-old wiped out his family, and his remaining loved ones say they are bewildered by the tragedy.
'I'm completely at a loss for words for that, because he loved that baby so much,' Adalynn's mother Kara Hanning told Fox8Live.
'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.'
Authorities have launched an investigation to uncover the cause of the horror shooting, but say there is no further threat to the public.
The horrific shooting spree unfolded after deputies with the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office were called to the home for a welfare check, although it is not clear who called 911.
Hanning said she was at work at the time, but realized something was wrong when several of her friends reached out to her to ask if she and Adalynn were okay because something happened on her street.
She said Adalynn was supposed to be dropped off at a babysitter's home that morning, but panicked when the babysitter told her she hadn't seen her yet.
Adalynn's father James then also didn't pick up, and she left work early and drove to the house when she called Leroy and he didn't pick up either.
She recalled the heartbreaking moment she arrived at the house to find police officers there, and when she asked them if her baby girl was okay, 'they just looked at me with the most saddest expression,' she said.
'I lost it, I did, because I don't think anybody would want to lose their baby like that,' Hanning said.
Hanning said she and the rest of the family are stunned by the senseless killings, and are searching for answers as to what could have made Leroy snap.
She said Leroy had struggled with the loss of his stepdaughter to cancer about six months ago, and knew he had been grieving ever since.
Hanning also revealed that Judy Sadler was sick, but did not say what illness she had been battling before being shot dead by her husband.
She said despite the grandfather's horrific acts, she 'can't hate him' and hopes the tragedy serves as a lesson on mental health for others.
'I will never be able to hate him,' Hanning continued.
'I forgive him for his actions. I wish it never happened, but I have no hate in my heart for that man.'
In a GoFundMe set up following Adalynn's death, she two-year-old was described as 'beautiful, intelligent and so full of joy.'
'She was the brightest light in Kara's life and truly the sweetest little girl you could ever meet,' read the fundraiser, written by Hanning's cousin.
'Instead of spending this Mother's Day weekend with her baby, she will be laying her to rest. No mother should ever have to feel that kind of pain.'
