Police arrest father of girl found dead with 2 adults, 2 children inside California home

MODESTO, Calif. – A 30-year-old man was arrested Sunday in the deaths of his daughter, two other girls and two women whose bodies were found in a California home, police said.

Modesto police spokeswoman Heather Graves said Martin Martinez, of Modesto, was detained in San Jose early Sunday and booked into a Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of murder.

Martinez had a relationship with one of the women and is the father of one of the girls found dead Saturday afternoon. All the victims are related, and the children’s ages range from 6 months to 6 years old, Graves said.

Police aren’t releasing information about a motive or cause of death at this time, she said.

Officers responding to a request to check on the home discovered the bodies Saturday afternoon, Graves said.

Modesto is located in California’s Central Valley.

The house is in a tidy subdivision lined with four- and five-bedroom homes that were built seven or eight years ago, the Modesto Bee reported.

Connie Lycan, who lives a block away, said she moved to the neighbourhood when it was new and considered to be quiet.

“Well it was quiet. No place is safe anymore,” Lycan said.