Five people and “several” pets were discovered dead on a rural property in Oregon, where authorities say they are now investigating the grim scene as a quintuple homicide.
Investigators identified the suspect as 36-year-old Benjamin Charles Parker, who was later found dead inside his vehicle in Enumclaw, Washington. Authorities believe he died by suicide.
Officials have not said what connection, if any, Parker had to the victims. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said, however, that investigators do not believe there is an ongoing danger to the public.
Deputies were first notified of the killings at 5.27am Saturday after Forest Grove Fire Department crews responded to a vehicle fire and came across the bodies at 47350 Northwest Otis Lane, in an unincorporated area outside Forest Grove.
Dispatch recordings captured the moment firefighters realized they had encountered a far more disturbing situation than a routine fire call.
“We do have a deceased victim here. We are going to need law enforcement,” one firefighter said in dispatch audio obtained by KATU.
Another firefighter then reported, “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 underscored the alarm at the scene: “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.
