The bodies of five people and several dead animals were discovered on a rural Oregon property Saturday — before the “quintuple homicide” suspect was later found dead by suicide in a car, according to authorities.
Five people and “several” domesticated animals were found dead on a remote property outside of Forest Grove, 25 miles east of Portland, just before 5:30 a.m., according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Firefighters stumbled upon the grim scene while responding to a report of a vehicle fire and immediately called law enforcement to investigate, police said.
The suspect, identified as Benjamin Charles Parker, 36, was later found dead inside a car in Enumclaw — a small city roughly 50 miles southwest of Seattle. Parker died by apparent suicide, police announced on Sunday.
The identities of the five slain people have not yet been released, and authorities have not yet said whether the victims were related.
Washington County Detective Shannon Wilde said in a press conference on Sunday that the case is being investigated as a “quintuple homicide” and that investigators do not believe that the killings were a “random act.”
Parker knew the victims, though Sheriff Caprice Massey declined to state how they knew each other or whether a motive has been determined when speaking to reporters late Sunday, KOIN6 reported.
No details have been revealed about the manner in which the five people were murdered, or how the vehicle fire and dead animals are related to the investigation.
Records show Parker lived in the home where the bodies were found at one point, but it’s unclear whether he still resided there, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
“In my 22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex involving this type of an investigation,” Massey told reporters.
“I recognize that this incident is deeply concerning to our community. Our investigators are working to determine what happened, and we have dedicated every available resource to this case,” Massey said.
