Sep 10, 2008 5:19 am US/Pacific
Teen Arrested In Murders Of Woman, Her 3 Girls
Corey King Is Being Held On $1 Million Bail
LANCASTER, Calif.
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Corey King was arrested Wednesday and booked in the deaths of a mother and her three children.
CBS
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A woman and four children were found dead after a house fire in Lancaster.
CBS
Detectives Wednesday arrested and booked an 18-year-old man in connection with the deaths of a woman and her three daughters whose bodies were found inside a burning home in Lancaster.
Corey King, who was seen at the home late Monday night, turned himself in to sheriff's detectives Tuesday afternoon. He is being held on $1 million bail in connection with the killings of Sonya Durfield, 42, Ebony Horton, 14, Melinda Harris, 12, and 8-year-old Kayla Clark.
King was a friend of the woman's older son.
The bodies were discovered after firefighters doused the flames inside the residence in the 1500 block of East Avenue J-3 about 7 a.m. Tuesday, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said.
The victims were found in separate rooms of the home and, based on "injuries observed at the scene," appeared to have been homicide victims, Craig Harvey of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said.
"The victims appeared to have suffered significant trauma not associated with the fire," Deputy Byron Ward of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau said.
Detectives Tuesday recovered a vehicle that had been taken from the home, Ward said, adding that the car was abandoned about a half-mile from the residence, and its front passenger window was shattered.
"How it got there we are not yet able to determine," Lt. Pat Nelson of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said.
The vehicle was reportedly found near a Wal-Mart, where a break-in occurred.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Wal-Mart security guards tried to detain a man following the break-in but were unsuccessful.
Nelson told the newspaper that the incidents were connected.
Gregory Kealikea Stewart, who was at the scene of the fire, told reporters that the victims were his estranged wife and three daughters.
"Right now it hasn't set in," Stewart said. "I'm still in a world of disarray. I keep saying I'm going to wake up and everybody here is going to be part of the dream."
Durfield reportedly had six children, including a son and two older daughters.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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