Detective: Va. deaths apparently a murder-suicide

8/4/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Family-Dead-Virginia

    Police investigate the home where a family of five, including three children, were found shot to death Sunday night, in Culpeper, Va.

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • Police investigate the home where a family of five, including three children, were found shot to death Sunday night, in Culpeper, Va.
    Police investigate the home where a family of five, including three children, were found shot to death Sunday night, in Culpeper, Va.

    CULPEPER, Va. — A detective says the shooting deaths of five family members in a quiet part of north-central Virginia are being investigated as a murder-suicide.

    Detective Angela Deavers says a relative found the bodies inside the family’s home just outside Culpeper by a family member on Sunday night.

    Two adults, both 35, and three school-age children were found inside.

    The three-bedroom house sits on about an acre of land near Culpeper. The town of about 15,000 people 70 miles southwest of Washington is known for its quaint downtown and Civil War history.

    Mayor Michael Olinger calls the deaths a shock to the community. He says he didn’t know the victims.

    Virginia State Police are assisting with the investigation.