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The bodies of six young adults were discovered in a Deltona house this morning, apparently victims of a brutal overnight slaughter, and authorities said their killer most likely knew them and is probably at large.
Officials said the victims ranged in age from 18 to the mid-30s, and said police technicians would have to use fingerprints and dental records to confirm each identity. The bodies were removed from the home just at 7 tonight.
A dog was also found dead in the home, which is about 25 miles north of Orlando.
By Friday evening, officials had tentatively identified one victim through tattoos, but did not release the name. Autopsies were planned for Saturday and Sunday.
"We've never seen anything like this," Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said this afternoon. "There was a lot of trauma, a lot of blood splatter, just a very, very brutal crime."
Johnson said the victims did not appear to have been family members and had not been living at the house long. Authorities said the bodies were found in different rooms of the three-bedroom home, and there were signs of a struggle.
"I don't believe this was a random act by any means. I strongly believe these people knew who their assailants were," Johnson said, adding that it was "very, very possible" that more than one person was involved.
Sheriff Johnson did not divulge how the victims died or offer a possible motive for the slayings. They have identified subjects of interest to talk to, Johnson said.
"It appears that we have a murderer on the loose, but it's early in the investigation," Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.
The victims apparently worked at an area Burger King, and their bodies were discovered after one of them failed to show up for work this morning. A co-worker called a friend and asked the person to visit the home, officials said.
Aerial footage of the house showed a team of investigators donning white protective suits in the front yard. A blue Pontiac was towed from the driveway. Yellow police tape cordoned off the perimeter of the property.
Police also cordoned off a second home in the area which Johnson called a "house of interest."
"Possibly some of the people who lived in that house may have moved into this house," where the bodies were found, Johnson said.
Deputies had recently been dispatched to that house for disturbance calls that included fighting, trespassing and tire-slashing, Johnson said.
A man at crime scene who identified himself as Steve Nathan said his daughter, Michelle Ann Nathan, 19, was one of the victims. He said she moved into the house three months ago, and that she and the other housemates worked at Burger King.
Nathan said his daughter's boyfriend also was living there and had moved in two weeks ago.
"She was a fun-loving kid," said Nathan. "She liked her car; she liked boys. She had just gotten a used Camaro, and she was really excited about her car."
Michelle was stationed in Missouri with the army, Nathan said, and was discharged recently because of medical trauma.
Reporters went to the Burger King earlier today and saw employees sitting at tables with the doors locked.
Burger King, in a statement, said "the victims of the tragedy are employees" of a Deltona franchise, and said the franchisee was working with local officials and the corporation during the investigation. A company spokeswoman would not clarify whether all the victims worked for Burger King. The franchisee did not return calls for comment.
The restaurant, about two miles from the house, posted a sign that read, "Sorry temporarily closed. Sorry for the inconvenience." Don Ramdeen, the restaurant's operations director, said the business was bringing in professional counselors for its workers.
The house is located in a tidy, residential area of middle-class homes. Neighbors stood on corners talking, while children rode through the area on bicycles. County tax records show that the home is owned by a Brooklyn, N.Y., man.
Chaplains from the sheriff's office consoled victims' relatives, who were kept away from the media and other crowds gathered in the area.
Rocky Gonzalez, 22, rushed to the scene because he was concerned that one of his friends may have been a victim. Gonzalez said his friend had told him Thursday night that he was planning to stay at the house with someone who worked at Burger King.
A neighbor of the victims, India Harris, said she was visited by two investigators at 7 a.m., waking up her brother and cousin. Harris, 17, estimated four people lived in the house, but only knew the neighbors to say hello.
Harris said the investigators asked her whether she knew any of the neighbors and whether she saw any strange cars passing through the neighborhood.
"They kept asking us, 'Did we know any of them?"' Harris said in a telephone interview. Harris said she did not know the names of the people who lived there.
The bodies of six young adults were discovered in a Deltona house this morning, apparently victims of a brutal overnight slaughter, and authorities said their killer most likely knew them and is probably at large.
Officials said the victims ranged in age from 18 to the mid-30s, and said police technicians would have to use fingerprints and dental records to confirm each identity. The bodies were removed from the home just at 7 tonight.
A dog was also found dead in the home, which is about 25 miles north of Orlando.
By Friday evening, officials had tentatively identified one victim through tattoos, but did not release the name. Autopsies were planned for Saturday and Sunday.
"We've never seen anything like this," Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said this afternoon. "There was a lot of trauma, a lot of blood splatter, just a very, very brutal crime."
Johnson said the victims did not appear to have been family members and had not been living at the house long. Authorities said the bodies were found in different rooms of the three-bedroom home, and there were signs of a struggle.
"I don't believe this was a random act by any means. I strongly believe these people knew who their assailants were," Johnson said, adding that it was "very, very possible" that more than one person was involved.
Sheriff Johnson did not divulge how the victims died or offer a possible motive for the slayings. They have identified subjects of interest to talk to, Johnson said.
"It appears that we have a murderer on the loose, but it's early in the investigation," Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.
The victims apparently worked at an area Burger King, and their bodies were discovered after one of them failed to show up for work this morning. A co-worker called a friend and asked the person to visit the home, officials said.
Aerial footage of the house showed a team of investigators donning white protective suits in the front yard. A blue Pontiac was towed from the driveway. Yellow police tape cordoned off the perimeter of the property.
Police also cordoned off a second home in the area which Johnson called a "house of interest."
"Possibly some of the people who lived in that house may have moved into this house," where the bodies were found, Johnson said.
Deputies had recently been dispatched to that house for disturbance calls that included fighting, trespassing and tire-slashing, Johnson said.
A man at crime scene who identified himself as Steve Nathan said his daughter, Michelle Ann Nathan, 19, was one of the victims. He said she moved into the house three months ago, and that she and the other housemates worked at Burger King.
Nathan said his daughter's boyfriend also was living there and had moved in two weeks ago.
"She was a fun-loving kid," said Nathan. "She liked her car; she liked boys. She had just gotten a used Camaro, and she was really excited about her car."
Michelle was stationed in Missouri with the army, Nathan said, and was discharged recently because of medical trauma.
Reporters went to the Burger King earlier today and saw employees sitting at tables with the doors locked.
Burger King, in a statement, said "the victims of the tragedy are employees" of a Deltona franchise, and said the franchisee was working with local officials and the corporation during the investigation. A company spokeswoman would not clarify whether all the victims worked for Burger King. The franchisee did not return calls for comment.
The restaurant, about two miles from the house, posted a sign that read, "Sorry temporarily closed. Sorry for the inconvenience." Don Ramdeen, the restaurant's operations director, said the business was bringing in professional counselors for its workers.
The house is located in a tidy, residential area of middle-class homes. Neighbors stood on corners talking, while children rode through the area on bicycles. County tax records show that the home is owned by a Brooklyn, N.Y., man.
Chaplains from the sheriff's office consoled victims' relatives, who were kept away from the media and other crowds gathered in the area.
Rocky Gonzalez, 22, rushed to the scene because he was concerned that one of his friends may have been a victim. Gonzalez said his friend had told him Thursday night that he was planning to stay at the house with someone who worked at Burger King.
A neighbor of the victims, India Harris, said she was visited by two investigators at 7 a.m., waking up her brother and cousin. Harris, 17, estimated four people lived in the house, but only knew the neighbors to say hello.
Harris said the investigators asked her whether she knew any of the neighbors and whether she saw any strange cars passing through the neighborhood.
"They kept asking us, 'Did we know any of them?"' Harris said in a telephone interview. Harris said she did not know the names of the people who lived there.
