3 months ago
Share
The home sits alone, surrounded by businesses and schools. Police are looking for anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity. Until there is further information, police tell Today's THV all five deaths are being treated as homicides.
Lt. James Martin says, "I have seen a lot in 19 years, this is definitely one of the more serious."
Martin with the Garland County Sheriff's Department says when he arrived at 3450 Old Airport Road just after 3 a.m., ash and smoke were all that were left of the mobile home.
He continues, "All five have been sent to the State Crime Lab for identification purposes and cause of death."
Volunteer firefighters found four bodies in the pile of melted rubble. Shortly after that, investigators found a man, now identified as 80-year-old Edward Earl Gentry Sr., dead in a house on the same property, bringing the total to five bodies.
Martin says, "We have a lot of unanswered questions."
Martin says this is a criminal investigation, but what makes it more suspicious is they found a burning car registered to the residence on the east side of the county, 15 minutes before police were called to the home.
"Right now, we have our investigators, we also have investigators from the Arkansas State Police and their arson investigators assisting us," Martin explains.
Friends and family remain a fixture at the scene hoping to learn why this happened. Martin says his priority is to give family closure, find a motive and a possible person of interest.
He concludes, "Right now we have a lot of folks out working on it and still coming up with no answers."
The identities of the remaining four bodies will be released after the crime lab identifies them and notifies family. Investigators can't say for sure yet whether it's arson.
If you have any information, you are asked to call the Garland County Sheriff's Department. Your call will remain anonymous.
