The bodies of five members of a family were found in their charred home in the Vaud region of Switzerland. The police suspect the father of having shot and killed his wife and three daughters before committing suicide.
“After two days of intense investigations, the trail of the family drama is the hypothesis favored by the prosecutor in charge of the criminal investigation and the investigators”, declared the police of the Vaud region, in a press release.
A weapon found near the body of the father
The house, located in Yverdon-les-Bains, a town on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel in the canton of Vaud, was shaken early Thursday by a strong explosion, before being ravaged by flames.
The bodies of the family members who lived there – the 45-year-old father, the 40-year-old mother and their three daughters aged five, nine and 13 – were found in the debris. Each of the victims had bullet holes.
“A weapon was found near the father who could be the author of the four other homicides before ending his life”, continues the police, which excludes for the time being “the intervention of a third party”.
The origin of the fire could not be formally established but it was noted “the presence in the various rooms of the house of a large quantity of accelerant, potentially gasoline”.