Elderly couple slaughtered by killer with hammer who then set himself on fire
A killer beat an elderly couple to death with a hammer then set himself on fire in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
Investigators identified the victims as Ira Reed, 60, and Joanne Deluca, 63, but have not been able to identify the killer, a man burned beyond recognition who was found with in the garage of the home in Union Township, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Pennsylvania State Police said the suspect also slashed the couples’ two dogs’s throats and stomped their two cats to death.
Deluca’s adult son, Adam, reportedly lived in the house, but no one has seen or heard from him since the murders, according to CBS.
Police are waiting on an autopsy to help them confirm the identify the third body found in the garage, which was found by firefighters responded to the blaze at the home’s garage.
‘It’s the crazy world we live in. One of our veteran investigators said it was the worst crime scene he’s ever seen,’ state trooper David Beohm told WGAL.
According to Berks County District Attorney John Adams, investigators are still working to locate clues in the fire-damaged crime scene.
Police have not given a motive for the apparent murder-suicide and said the fire caused between $20,000 and $30,000 in damage.