Four people were found dead in a Southern California home Tuesday in what appears to be a murder-suicide case, authorities said.
Officers were informed about the dead bodies by a relative of one of the deceased. Upon arrival they found bodies of two males and two females in a two-story Mission Viejo home, reports the Orange County Register.
Although the motive remained unclear, Lt. Jeff Hallock said that investigators determined one of the people in the home murdered the other three before killing self, according to the Associated Press. But no information was disclosed about how the slayings happened.
The coroner had yet to arrive several hours after the bodies were found and detectives, who were seeking a search warrant, remained inside. The house is located in Pacific Hills, a modern neighborhood of two-story, upscale homes on winding streets. Mission Viejo is a city of about 95,000 in the southern section of Orange County about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The investigators also said that nearby residents were not in any danger. "'We do not think that there is any danger for the community or other suspects involved," he said.
According to neighbor Anila Whitney-Miller, just before dawn she got up after hearing scream coming from the home. "It was just awful crying," she told the Orange County Register. After a while the screaming stopped, she added.
Another neighbor told KABC that a husband, wife and two young children, aged between 15 and 21, stayed at the home. However, it was not revealed whether the bodies belonged to those of the family.
