Car Exhaust Suspected As Cause Of Toddler, Father's Death

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The grandfather of a 2-year-old California girl found dead with her father inside an SUV says the two died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the car's exhaust pipe.

Makram Samaan told a local newspaper on Monday that his son, Mourad "Moni" Samaan, killed himself and Layla Samaan-Fay after a bitter custody battle that began before the child was born.

Their bodies were found inside the 49-year-old father's Toyota 4Runner in rural El Dorado County on Saturday.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's office has not confirmed the causes of death and did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The father and daughter went missing a day after he learned his wife had been awarded full custody of their child. Their bodies were discovered nearly a week later.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)