Police find 9 bodies, most children, in Fresno
Response to domestic disturbance finds victims in suspect's home
FRESNO, California (CNN) -- Police found a pile of nine bodies -- mostly children -- in the Fresno, California, home of the man police believe is the father of the victims.
Fresno police had responded to a domestic disturbance call on Friday afternoon. They said the man, Marcus Wesson, 57, is the prime suspect, but as of late Friday, he had not been charged in the slayings.
Wesson was taken into police custody after a one-hour standoff.
Police also found 10 empty wooden caskets stacked one on top of the other at the front of the house, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.
The motive for the killings is unknown. Dyer said it might have been a ritual killing. Fresno Mayor Alan Autry said it appeared to be a domestic situation.
Authorities were called to the home around 2:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. ET), after two women told police they were trying to get custody of children they had turned over to Wesson.
When Wesson opened the door to the police, they saw several people sitting in the front part of the house, Fresno Police Sgt. Greg Sanders said.
Wesson then barricaded himself in the rear bedroom and police took the people they saw in the front of the house outside.
Police called in a SWAT team that entered the home, negotiating with Wesson for about an hour before he agreed to come out, Sanders said. Wesson was bloodied and wearing what appeared to be blood-stained clothes.
After arresting Wesson, police discovered seven bodies. Friday night, police found two more victims entangled with the others in the back bedroom, where Wesson had barricaded himself hours earlier.
"I'm hoping this is the last victim that we find, quite frankly," the chief said, after announcing the discovery of the ninth body.
The nine victims include one adult, a teenager, and the other seven "appeared to be infants or toddlers" ranging in age from one to 8 years old, Dyer said. The majority of the victims are female, he said.
Most of the bodies were "intertwined and stacked on top of each other," Dyer said. The victims' clothing was wrapped around the bodies, and scattered around the bedroom where the victims were found, complicating the identification process, he said.
The Fresno County Coroner's Office tested the bodies to determine the time of death and cause.
"We do believe at this time that the deceased individuals -- most if not all of those -- are the children of the suspect," the chief said.
The victims have different mothers, four of whom have been cooperating with investigators, Dyer said.
Several of the police officers who discovered the bodies were so distraught they were placed on paid administrative leave, Dyer said.
"Anytime you have multiple victims of a homicide it's a horrific scene," Dyer said. "The fact that you have children involved and they're helpless is something that none of us could predict."
Mayor Autry came to the crime scene late Friday.
"This is our home, and when something like this happens, we all feel the loss," he said. "It cuts to the core of our collective heart as a city, as a community."
CNN Radio's Ninette Sosa contributed to this report
