BURNED REMAINS LIKELY HOMICIDES

(02/08/2005)
Wood County authorities are saying three victims of two separate fires are most likely homicides.

Autopsies conducted yesterday may tell whether or not the crimes are connected.

"At this point in the investigations we are not certain that the deceased bodies and the crimes are related, but because of the proximity and the time, we are exploring that as an option, and the fact that all three bodies are burned are very common factors in this investigation," says Ginny Conley, Wood County Prosecutor.

Police and fire crews found two bodies in the rubble of a 19th Street house in Parkersburg early Saturday morning. Hours later another charred body was found in a field in the Mineral Wells area near the Camp Barbe 4-H Camp.

Almost every available officer from the Parkersburg Police Department and the Wood County Sheriff's Department is working on the case.