No suspects yet in Denver bar homicide-arson
Denver police don't have any suspects in the slayings of five people whose bodies were found at a neighborhood bar after a fire broke out early Wednesday, including one of the bar owners. Investigators believe they were killed before the fire and the blaze was set to cover up the slayings, AP reported.
The fire at Fero's Bar & Grill was spotted just before 2 a.m., closing time for bars, by a police officer on patrol. Firefighters found four women and one man dead inside.
The Denver medical examiner said the victims included 63-year-old Young Fero, of the Denver suburb of Aurora. State records identify her as one of the bar's owners.
The other victims were Daria M. Pohl, 22, Kellene Fallon, 45, Ross Richter, 29, and Tereasa Beesley, 45. Pohl, Fallon and Beesley were from Denver. Richter's hometown wasn't released.
Police chief Robert White said there's nothing to indicate a murder-suicide, meaning whoever is responsible is still at large. He said he was hopeful the killings were an "isolated act" but couldn't say for sure yet.
"It's very alarming and that's why it's so important that we investigate it to the fullest," White said, as investigators continued their work inside the bar about 12 hours after the fire was reported.
The bar was extensively damaged, but there wasn't much damage visible from the outside, he said.
Red stains that appeared to be blood were visible on the sidewalk in front of the bar. Some of the stains were in trails on the sidewalk and others appeared to have been where blood had pooled.
The officer who reported the fire said he heard screams, but investigators said they likely came from bystanders outside.
"Based on the severity of the injuries, we don't think they came from inside," fire department spokesman Lt. Phil Champagne said.