SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — A Sand Springs man's struggle with hydrocodone addiction ended in tragedy when police say he killed his wife, their two dogs, and then himself, leaving behind a son determined to warn others about the dangers of prescription drug dependency.
Will Toliver received a phone call no son should ever have to get. His father called to confess what he had done and explain why.
WATCH: Son warns of hydrocodone dangers after father kills mother, pets, then himself:
"He told me that he had killed my mom, and he killed the two dogs, and he told me he's calling me because he knows I could handle it and that it was the hydrocodone that made him do it," Toliver said.
Before Toliver could respond, his father spoke again.
"He told me he loved me, and before I could say anything else, he hung up," Toliver said.
Toliver immediately called 911. When officers arrived at his parents' home, they found both parents dead from gunshot wounds. The family dogs had also been shot and killed.
Sand Springs Deputy Chief Todd Enzbrenner said evidence at the scene indicates the father shot the animals and his wife before taking his own life.
"People get to a desperate point and they don't see a way out, and everybody needs to realize there is a way out," Enzbrenner said. "Life is tough for everybod,y and it's not worth it for surviving family members to have to deal with the aftermath of these things, so if at all possible, get help."
Toliver said his father had been struggling with addiction for years, though the family didn't fully understand the extent of the problem.
"It was one hundred percent a hydrocodone addiction," Toliver said. "He told me before he did it that it was a 100% dependency on hydrocodone and how it rerouted his brain and how it made him incapable of making rational decisions."
"Apparently, he had been on it for over a decade, and for some reason, he felt that this was the reason he had to make this decision," Toliver said.
The father left behind a note asking his sons to make it their life's mission never to get hooked on hydrocodone.
As the family begins to grieve, Toliver wants his family's tragedy to serve as a warning to others about the dangers of prescription drug addiction.
"If this story can get one person off the hydrocodone, then the uncomfortableness that I feel here doing this interview will be well worth it," Toliver said.
The family, along with police, urges anyone struggling with addiction or mental health issues to reach out for help.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, you can call Grand Mental Health Tulsa Urgent Recovery Center at 1-(800)-722-3611.
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