DAYTON — A Dayton woman shot her 8-year-old son before shooting and killing herself earlier this week, according to preliminary autopsy reports from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
A case synopsis attached to the draft report of Nolan Combs’ autopsy showed that paramedics took him from the house he was shot in on Fieldstone Drive to Dayton Children’s Hospital just after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday. The doctors performed emergency surgery, but Nolan could not be saved and died 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital.
Nolan’s preliminary autopsy shows he was shot twice, once from an undetermined distance with a shotgun and another was a wound to the chest, from close range. News Center 7′s Mike Campbell said his observations of the report led him to conclude the second wound was from a handgun.
A coroner’s synopsis said police found Nolan and his mother, Melissa Hensley, 34, in a second-floor bathroom.
Hensley’s preliminary autopsy showed that she had an entry wound to her chest and an exit wound to her back. The autopsy information showed the police appeared to recover a .38 caliber handgun in that same bathroom.
Dayton police confirmed to News Center 7 Thursday that another child, older than Nolan, was in the home when this shooting took place.
“He heard the shot and the screaming, tried to intervene and stop the violence but was unable to do so,” Major Brian Johns, Dayton police, said. “Mom fired a shot at him and he left the residence.”
The rapid violence that took Nolan’s life left his father stunned and angered.
“This is a tragedy that never should have happened,” James Combs previously told News Center 7. “The courts failed this baby, they failed this child.”
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He’s upset that his attempts to gain custody of his son failed. He’s also upset that there were unsecured weapons in the home and said he plans to fight for justice for his son.
“His life will not be in vain,” James said.
Court records filed in Dayton Municipal Court from 2018-2021 show that Hensley had prior convictions for drug abuse, domestic violence, aggravated menacing, and assault. After her 2020 and 2021 convictions, she was referred to mental health counseling and drug and alcohol counseling.
The final autopsies for both Nolan and Hensley, including toxicology reports, might indicate if anyone had any unusual substances in their systems. Those reports will not be finished for 10 weeks.
Dayton police also said their investigation into this shooting is not complete at this time.