2007-12-28 08:29:55
A US couple have admitted to killing six people outside the city of Seattle on
Christmas Eve, according to police documents filed in court.
Michele Anderson and Joe McEnroe, both 29, have been denied bail over the
deaths of Ms Anderson's parents, her brother and three other family members.
Police say the couple shot dead Wayne and Judy Anderson at their rural home
near Seattle in Washington state.
The others were shot when they arrived a short while later, police said.
After shooting Ms Anderson's parents on Monday, the couple dragged their bodies
to a shed on the property to hide them, the police report says.
Michele Anderson's brother Scott, his wife Erica and their two children Olivia
and Nathan, aged six and three, were killed when they arrived shortly
afterwards for a Christmas Eve dinner, according to the report.
Money dispute?
The bodies were discovered on Wednesday by a co-worker of Judy Anderson who
came to see why she had not shown up for her job as a postal worker in the
nearby small town of Carnation, about 25 miles (40km) east of Seattle.
Ms Anderson and Mr McEnroe were living in a caravan home 200 yards from the
elder Andersons' home.
The police affidavit said they used a 9-mm and a .357-calibre Magnum - both
large calibre handguns.
They were arrested when they showed up at the property as police were
investigating the murder scene. The police report stated they had tried to flee
to nearby Canada, but had returned.
The couple have given no statement of guilt or innocence.
A dispute over money is one motive police are investigating, a King County
sheriff's spokesman said.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is considering filing charges of
aggravated murder, which could result in the death penalty, the Seattle Times
newspaper said.
Charges are likely to be filed Friday, the prosecutor's office said.