Daughter arrested after Christmas family massacre

A woman and her boyfriend are in custody today, suspected of shooting dead her parents and four other family members, including two small children, at a remote rural home.

Six people, believed to be three generations of a family, were found dead at the property in Carnation, Washington.

A police source identified the suspects as Michele Anderson, 29, and her boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe. Both are in custody on suspicion of murder.

The victims included a boy aged about three, a girl of about six, a man and woman in their 30s, and a man and woman in their 50s. Their names were not released, but they were “likely three generations” of one family, King County sheriff’s Sgt John Urquhart said.

The cause of death was apparently gunshot wounds, Sgt Urquhart said. They were probably killed in the late afternoon or early evening on Christmas Eve, he said.

The property where the bodies were found is owned by Wayne Anderson, 60, and Judy Anderson, 61, according to public records.

The couple have three children, including a daughter, Michele, who lives on the property in a mobile home, said Mark Bennett, who identified himself as a family friend. He said another daughter, Mary, and a son, Scott, lived in the area.

An emergency call was made from the house in the early evening on Christmas Eve, but the call broke off after about 10 seconds, Sgt Urquhart said. When deputies arrived at the scene, they encountered a locked gate.

“They didn’t go past it,” Urquhart said. “I don’t know why yet. That’s one of the things we’re looking into.”

Sgt Urquhart said the bodies were found by a co-worker of one of the victims who had come to the house because one of the victims, who works for the US Postal Service, did not report to work.

The property includes a house and a mobile home at the end of a long dirt road. The structures are part of a cluster of other rural properties near Carnation, about 21 miles east of Seattle.

Sgt Urquhart would not say where the victims were found on the property, other than to say they were “not found in the same room”.

As investigators searched the property, they removed a black pick-up truck.