House Fire in Which Family of 8 Found Dead Probed as Murder-Suicide: Police

A family of eight found dead Thursday in a burning home were victims of an apparent murder-suicide, police said, as the investigation continues to unfold in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

The probe, initially ruled a homicide, ensued Thursday evening after the bodies of two adults and six children were found in the residential blaze in the city of about 113,500 in the northeastern part of the state. Broken Arrow is Tulsa's largest suburb. According to a report from News on 6 in Tulsa, the Broken Arrow Police Department (BAPD) responded to the house fire about 4 p.m. Thursday.

Ethan Hutchins, public information officer for BAPD, said all victims were family members who lived at the residence, according to a press release sent to Newsweek Friday. The two deceased adults are the primary suspects, Hutchins added, and that the children ranged in age from 1 to 13.

Officers found firearms inside the residence, police said. Hutchins said in the release that it does not appear any of the victims died from the fire, but medical examiners have yet to determine official causes of death. The next of kin to the family have also been notified, added Hutchins.

BAPD posted on Facebook Thursday evening that while the investigation is ongoing and complex, the department did not "believe there was an immediate threat to the public."

"Broken Arrow stands together," BAPD Chief Brandon Berryhill said in another Facebook post Thursday. "We will mourn together, and in the end we will heal together. Please pray [for] those who have lost their lives, and for our first responders who are dealing with a tragedy of this magnitude."

Hutchins said Thursday's fire marked Broken Arrow's first homicide investigation this year, reported 2 News.

According to a report from News on 6, the BAPD typically faces two homicide probes per year, although there were five last year.

News on 6 also reported an uptick in car burglaries and theft last year, but the BAPD said the neighborhood—just outside of Tulsa—is one of the safest in the country.

"Understandably, this is a shock to Broken Arrow," Hutchins told reporters Thursday night. "It's a safe city. Broken Arrow doesn't have this kind of situation every day, and so we're asking the community to please pray and come together in this because this is ... something we don't experience in the city very often."

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations reported that in 2020, Oklahoma had the most murder cases it had seen in 10 years, with 287 homicides. Murders accounted for 1.6 percent of violent crimes in Oklahoma the same year, said the state.

During the state's gubernatorial debate on October 19, Democratic candidate Joy Hofmeister said the "rates of violent crime are higher in Oklahoma ... than New York and California" on the watch of her opponent, GOP Governor Kevin Stitt.

Newsweek researchers found that the FBI's crime statistics show that Oklahoma did have a higher crime rate than both New York and California in 2020. However, data that was available from the FBI was incomplete or missing for certain years.

Update 10/28/22, 4:33 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.