Posted on 03/12/2004 9:15:36 PM PST by socal_parrot
Seven People Found Dead in Fresno Home
FRESNO, Calif. (AP)--Three women, three toddlers and an infant were found dead Friday afternoon in a Fresno home, and police have arrested a suspect, authorities said.
The bodies were discovered after police responded to a call about a custody dispute on the city's west side, police Chief Jerry Dyer said. Witnesses had told police that a man had their children inside the home and refused to turn them over.
Police arrested Marcus Wesson, 57, who walked out of the house and surrendered when a SWAT team arrived. The bodies were discovered shortly after Wesson was taken into custody.
Police said they did not hear any gunshots or other unusual sounds. They were still trying to determine the cause of the deaths and Wesson's relationship to the victims.
The entire block surrounding the home was cordoned off by police Friday night.
Police discovered 10 caskets inside the house, but it was not clear whether the caskets were part of Wesson's occupation.
Fresno man arrested after 7 people found dead in house
Seven people were found dead in a Fresno house near Roeding Park today, and police arrested a man suspected of killing them.
Police arrested Marcus Wesson, 57, who walked out of the house and surrendered when a SWAT team arrived.
Police entered the house and made the grisly discovery -- the bodies of three women, three toddlers and an infant.
"Obviously this is something we have not seen before in this city. This is gruesome," police Chief Jerry Dyer said. "In the history of the city, this is the most murders we've had at one scene."
Events unfolded this way, according to police:
Dispatchers received a call about an alleged child custody dispute. Two women said they had given a man custody of their children. The man -- Wesson -- had custody for a year or two.
When officers arrived at the house on West Hammond Avenue, just east of Roeding Park and Freeway 99, Wesson ran inside and locked himself in the house. Police called out the SWAT team. After the SWAT team arrived, Wesson came out of the house and surrendered. Police officers noticed that he had what appeared to be blood on his shirt. He surrendered without any struggle and with no weapon.
Police found the bodies in a bedroom in the back of the house. They described the victims as African-Americans: three women, three children under the age of 3 and an infant. They could not identify the gender of the children. No other details about the bodies were announced.
Officers found 10 caskets stacked in the front room. Police do not know what the caskets were for, business or otherwise. A friend of Wesson's children said the caskets had been in the home for a long time.
Police say they do not know any details about Wesson, nor do they know the relationship of Wesson to the dead.
The two women who made the original call to police were being interviewed by officers. Police did not know if the dead children are the women's children.
???
Cult?? man!!
That area of town is heavy in drugs, prostitution, parolees, cheap motels and crime in general.
Seven Found Dead: Suspect in Custody
FRESNO — Three women and four children were found dead Friday afternoon in a Fresno home, and police have arrested a man suspected of killing them, authorities said.
The bodies, including three toddlers and an infant, were discovered when police responded to a call about a custody dispute on the city's west side around 2 p.m., according to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Police arrested Marcus Wesson, 57, who walked out of the house, covered in what appeared to be blood, and surrendered shortly after the SWAT team arrived, Dyer said. The bodies were discovered when police entered the home after Wesson was taken into custody.
"Officers went into one of the bedrooms and found seven deceased individuals," Dyer said.
Police were still trying to determine the cause of their deaths Friday.
About 10 caskets were stacked along a wall inside the single story home, he said, but police didn't know why they were there.
"Who knows," Dyer said, "maybe it's a business that sells caskets. It could be a total coincidence."
Two women who called police reported that a man had their children inside the home and refused to turn them over, Dyer said. The man initially refused to come out. Two more women dashed from the home when Wesson ran into a back bedroom.
He said two of the unidentified women said they had given custody of the children to Wesson two years ago and came to retrieve them Friday.
"We don't know what, if any, relationship there was between the suspect and the victims or the two females who called police," Dyer said. "We will be canvassing the neighborhood to learn more."
Police didn't immediately enter the home because the nature of the custody dispute was unclear and authorities could not obtain a search warrant until one of the witnesses claimed the man was armed with a gun, Dyer said.
By that time, negotiators had already tried to make contact with Wesson. A short time later, the chief said, Wesson emerged and surrendered.
Neighbors said they didn't know much about Wesson. "He never said 'Hi,"' said Linda Morales, 44. "I'd drive by and he'd make a point to turn his face."
Johnny Rios, 31, said loud banging could be heard coming from the home on many nights, as if the occupants were building something.
"There was something up over there," Rios said. "I thought there was prostitution going on because there was always a bunch of women over there."
Neighbor Chris Tognazzini, 31, said he heard two gunshots moments before police arrived.
"I heard the pops, then the cops came streaming down the street," he said.
Chief Dyer said police didn't hear any gunshots or other unusual sounds once they arrived on the scene.
Meanwhile, neighbors gathered in front yards just beyond the yellow police tape that surrounded the home just a few blocks from the railroad tracks. Whistles from passing trains broke through the sound of crackling police radios. A large yellow bus sat in the driveway.
"Homicide detectives will be on scene all night," the chief said.
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