Man held after nine bodies found in house
A man has been arrested after the bodies of a woman, a teenager and seven children were found in a home, police in California said today.
The nine bodies were discovered stacked and intertwined in a pile of clothes after police responded to a custody dispute call in Fresno, said 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 police commando team arrived, Dyer said. The bodies were discovered in one of the bedrooms when police entered the home.
“We do believe at this time that the deceased individuals, most if not all, are the suspect’s children,” Dyer said.
Police were searching the home for additional victims.
About 10 coffins were stacked along a wall inside the house, Dyer said, but police didn’t know why they were there.
“Who knows?” Dyer said. “Maybe it’s a business that sells coffins. It could be a total coincidence.”
Dyer said police had determined the cause of death for the victims, but were not immediately releasing it.
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 other women dashed from the home when Wesson ran into a back bedroom.
Police believe the suspect fathered children with the two women who called for help and with the two who fled the home.
It was difficult for officers to determine the age and gender of the victims as they uncovered them, Dyer said.
