26 Feb 2014

CNMI police class bodies found in house fire as double homicide

11:24 am on 26 February 2014

In the Northern Marianas, police on Saipan have now classified a case where two bodies were found after fire engulfed a house in the village of As Gonno as a double homicide.

The department of Public Safety Commissioner, James Deleon Guerrero, says investigators now believe there was foul play behind Sunday's fire where the bodies of a Chinese couple were found completely charred in their bedroom.

NMI Crime Stoppers Program coordinator, Jason Tarkong, also disclosed that further investigation and crime scene processing determined that arson was involved.

The victims' family members suspect that robbery was the motive and that possibly more than two people were behind the arson and killing.

Police say the man, aged 40, had signs of blunt trauma to the head, while the injuries of the 38 year-old female were still unknown.

The couple had been farming in a leased property in As Gonno for more than two years now. They had been supplying vegetables at hotels and other stores on the island.