A man and a woman have been arrested in connection with the killing of six people believed to be family members at a rural property east of Seattle.
Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County sheriff's office said the 29-year-old woman and the man, in his early 30s, are being investigated for six counts of homicide. Urquhart said the couple showed up at the crime scene, were questioned and then arrested.
He said they were known to the victims.
A law-enforcement official told the Associated Press that the two were the property owner's daughter and her boyfriend. The property is in Carnation, about 30 kilometres east of Seattle.
The victims included a boy about age three, a girl about age six, a man and woman in their 30s, and a man and woman in their 50s. They were most likely killed late afternoon or early evening on Christmas Eve, Urquhart said.
Autopsies have not yet been performed, but Urquhart said the likely cause of death was from gunshots.
A call to 911 was made from the house in the early evening of Christmas Eve, but the call broke off after about 10 seconds, Urquhart said. When deputies arrived at the scene, they stopped at 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."
The bodies were found by a co-worker of one of the victims who did not show up for work, Urquhart said.
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