House fire investigation reveals double-murder suicide
The Brief
- Three people are dead following a house fire near Navajo Drive and State Route 69 in Prescott Valley.
- Police say the event was a double-murder and suicide.
- They believe the fire was intentionally set.
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – Three people were found dead after a fire broke out in Prescott Valley.
Investigators believe the deadly fire at a home on Yavapai Road Thursday morning was intentionally set and two of the three people inside were shot to death.
The fire happened on Thursday, Sept. 12 at a home near Navajo Drive and State Route 69.
Central Arizona Fire and Medical says one person was initially found dead. However, two more victims were found after the flames were put out.
“It’s the weirdest thing thinking I was doing the dishes and 500 feet away a woman was getting murdered,” said neighbor Cossette Thompson.
Thursday morning started off normal for Cole and Cossette Thompson until doing household chores took a backseat to watching a crime scene unfold.
“(I) heard a couple could’ve been gunshots, could’ve been door slamming. They were spaced out enough to where I didn’t pay attention to it and then I looked up and I saw an officer run by our window and I was like ‘Oh that’s different’ and then I looked out the back door and saw the house was on fire and that’s when I called him,” Thompson said.
Police rushed to the home on Yavapai Road after receiving multiple 9-1-1 calls.
“Including that the house was on fire, that there were shots fired and that a woman was screaming for help. So on arrival, because the house was on fire, our officers could not enter the residence even though unfortunately they were hearing gunshots going off at that moment,” said James Edelstein of the Prescott Valley Police Department.
After the fire was out, first responders went inside and found two women dead from multiple gunshot wounds, and a man dead from an apparent single gunshot wound to the head.
Officers were upset to not be able to reach the victims sooner.
“We all get into the job because we want to protect people so it’s incredibly frustrating when something stands in the way of us doing that and I can tell you that every officer that was out here yesterday morning is certainly not happy with the fact that they had to wait for that structure fire to be put down,” Edlestein said.
The Thompsons were saddened by the news of what happened so close to home.
“You could hear them enjoying their weekends in the backyard so it’s just a really eerie feeling to just knowing that they’re gone. It’s sad,” said Cole Thompson.
Police say there are no outstanding suspects in this case and that there is no threat to the public.
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