Mother and two children 'murdered at their home by convicted killer she befriended after he was released from jail'

• 23-year-old Heather Jackson found strangled to death at her Ohio home
• Her body was wedged down side of bed, her two children's in a closet
• Curtis Clinton, 41, has been charged with their deaths
• He had become friends with Jackson shortly after being released from a 13-year jail term on a previous manslaughter charge
• Also facing separate charge of raping a 13-year-old girl

A young mother and her two infant children were strangled to death by her ex-con friend, police revealed on Friday, as the friend was charged with their murder.
23-year-old Heather Jackson's body was found brutally slain at her home in Ohio on Saturday, alongside her three-year-old daughter Celina and son, Wayne, aged 18 months.
All three died of strangulation, a coroner found, and police are investigating the identity of a murder weapon.

Tragic: The smiling mother and daughter, Heather Jackson (right) and three-year-old Celina

Curtis Clinton is accused of strangling to death Heather Jackson and her two young children

The man allegedly behind the killings, 41-year-old Curtis Clinton, was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, seven months after being released from a 13-year term for assault and involuntary manslaughter.
Police say he was invited into Jackson's home, where the bodies were later found.
Concerned friends had asked officers to check on the young mother, having not heard from her all day, and at around 8pm police made the grisly discovery.
Jackson's lifeless body had been shoved between a mattress and a bed frame, with her children's hidden inside a closet, NorwalkRegister.com reported.
She and her children had lived in the property for around a month, police said, and she had known Clinton for about five months.

23-year-old Heather Jackson's body was found brutally slain at her home in Ohio on Saturday, alongside her three-year-old daughter Celina (right) and son, Wayne, aged 18 months (left)

It is not yet known what his motive was but police say he has a lengthy criminal history including the assault and manslaughter conviction, over the death of 18-year-old Misty Keckler in 1997.
She was found dead from strangulation in a Fostoria mobile home and Clinton pleaded guilty two years later.
At this stage officers say they believe Clinton acted without an accomplice, though they are continuing to investigate and conduct interviews. 
He was arrested on Monday from the Bellevue Hospital, where he was receiving unspecified treatment.

Already facing charges of raping a 13-year-old girl, the registered sex offender is being held on $3million bond.
He is being held in the Erie County Jail, where he will stay until another court appearance next Tuesday.