MIAMI — Eight people from a family died, including six children, in a fire in the state of Michigan, where police are investigating the death as a possible murder-suicide because some victims also had gunshot wounds.
Authorities are awaiting autopsy results this Saturday, July 25, after discovering the bodies on Friday in the town of Grand Haven Township, which is next to Lake Michigan, Jacob Sparks, police captain of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, told the media.
The police are investigating as “suspicious” the deaths of the two adults, over 40 years old, and the six minors, who were between five and 15 years old and whose identities have not been revealed, according to the official.
“It’s too early to say if it’s a murder-suicide; I can tell you that’s a theory we have and we’re seeing if we can verify that,” Sparks said outside the scene.
without knowing the cause of the fire
Agents discovered the bodies around 11:40 a.m. on Friday (4:40 p.m. GMT) after receiving reports of smoke from a house in the Riverside Trail area, where the cause of the fire has not yet been identified.
Sparks described the crime scene as “complicated” and “very large,” indicating that all the people involved in the incident were inside the house, so he does not believe there is a threat to the general population.
Michigan State Police are assisting with the investigation, which is also seeking to determine if the fire was intentional.
