Horror as five people and several pets found dead on rural Oregon property
Five people and ‘several’ pets were found dead on a rural Oregon property in a horrific scene authorities are now investigating as a quintuple homicide.
The suspect, 36-year-old Benjamin Charles Parker, was also found dead inside his car in Enumclaw, Washington, with authorities now believing he took his own life.
It remains unclear what his relation to the victims may have been, but officials with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said they do not believe there is any threat to the community at this time.
Deputies had first been alerted about the quintuple homicide at 5.27am Saturday morning, when firefighters from the Forest Grove Fire Department stumbled upon the bodies while responding to a vehicle fire at 47350 Northwest Otis Lane, in an unincorporated area outside Forest Grove.
The firefighters could be heard in dispatch audio making the gruesome discovery.
‘We do have a deceased victim here. We are going to need law enforcement,’ one firefighter could be heard saying in the dispatch audio obtained by KATU.
In a second transmission, another firefighter could be heard saying, ‘We need a police unit or a sheriff’s office unit code 3 at the scene. Just in case, we have two victims.’
A third transmission added, ‘This is some suspicious circumstances certainly. So we’re going to take our hoses and get out of here and let the sheriff’s office clear this.’
When deputies then responded to the scene, they found a total of five dead people and several dead ‘domestic animals’ on the property.
Five people and ‘several’ pets were found dead on Saturday morning at a home in rural Forest Grove, Oregon
Deputies had been called to the scene after firefighters found the bodies while responding to a vehicle fire at the property
Washington County Sheriff Caprice Massey urged anyone with information about the occupants of the home to come forward
Authorities have not yet disclosed the ages or genders of the people found, how they died or what possible connections they might have with one another. The type of animals found dead also was not specified.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Detective Shannon Wilde with the sheriff’s office said they were still working to determine who the victims were.
‘Any time you have one person deceased, let alone five, that’s a logistical challenge,’ Wilde said, noting the complexity of the investigation and the large crime scene that she said contributed to a more than 24 hour delay in releasing details to the public.
Sheriff Caprice Massey also said that in her ’22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex involving this type of an investigation.’
‘I recognize that this incident is deeply concerning to our community,’ the sheriff continued. ‘Our investigators are working to determine what happened, and we have dedicated every available resource to this case.’
Oregon state forensics teams, K9 units and county animal services are processing the highly-vegetated property
The investigation is now being led by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Detective Unit, with support from Washington County Major Crimes Team, an inter-agency group of detectives from law enforcement agencies across the county.
Oregon state forensics teams, K9 units and county animal services are also processing the highly-vegetated property.
In the meantime, detectives are pleading for tips from anyone familiar with the home, its occupants or their associates.
‘There are no details too small,’ Massey said.
