Murder-suicide suspected in Calif. arson

A fire that engulfed a rural Northern California home, severely burning the six family members found dead inside, appears to have been arson and may have been set by one of those killed, investigators said Wednesday.

"This incident is isolated to this family," said Shasta County Sheriff's Capt. Dave Compomizzo. "We don't believe there's a mass murderer out there."

Compomizzo said it was possible the victims died before the blaze was set early Tuesday morning, although he said it's too early to determine exactly what happened. Investigators found "some trauma" on the bodies that was not caused by the fire, he said.

"From what we're seeing, some were dead before the fire, but that's something the coroner is going to have to determine," Compomizzo said.

Stunned neighbors tried to comprehend how such a thing could have happened in Happy Valley, a wooded community of ranchettes and small farms about 150 miles north of Sacramento. They said the family was quiet and never disturbed anyone. A grandfather, his four adult children, a boyfriend of one and a 13-year-old girl lived in the house.

"They stuck to themselves, mainly," said Steve Steward, a neighbor. "They had a little girl, about 12. You'd see her out there playing in the yard all by herself."

The flames spread so quickly, officials believe it was fueled by an accelerant. Some neighbors reported hearing what sounded like gunshots, although others told authorities they thought the sounds came from the fire.

A man who lived at the home was at work when the fire broke out and "had no involvement in this," Compomizzo said.

Jeffrey Crow, a newspaper carrier for the Record Searchlight of Redding, said he came upon the blaze while on his route shortly before 5 a.m., but the heat and flames were too intense to try to get anyone out.

"It sounded like little kids at first, then you could hear older people screaming," he told The Associated Press. "It just runs up your spine. You could hear them screaming, 'God no, don't let me die like this.'"

The victims range in age from a 13-year-old girl to a man in his 60s. Autopsies were to begin Thursday, and authorities hope to complete two a day, but the bodies were so badly burned that some may need to be identified through dental records or even DNA.

"There's so much destruction where the fire was hottest," Compomizzo said. No one inside the single-story home called 911.

Compomizzo confirmed that the owner of the home was Richard Wilcox, who lived there with his sons, Brett and Russell, and daughters, Cindy and Susan, all of whom were in their late 20s or early 30s. Susan's boyfriend and teenage daughter also lived there, Compomizzo said, confirming a neighbor's account. He stressed that authorities had not yet identified any of the dead.