Police seek clues, motive for slayings of 4 in their home

CINCINNATI – Investigators, including divers, swept an apartment complex Tuesday in a suburban Ohio community seeking clues to who killed three women and a man found dead in their home and why.

Names and other details hadn’t been released. Members of a nearby Sikh temple said they believed the victims had worshipped there.

West Chester Township spokeswoman Barb Wilson said in a statement Tuesday that while “many questions have been raised about Sunday’s homicides and a connection to the victims’ faith/nationality,” ”there is no reason to believe that this is a hate crime.”

The Indian consulate in New York issued a statement Tuesday that said it is in close touch with family members, the community and police. The statement also said the slayings weren’t believed to be a hate crime.

“We are closely following up (and) extending all help,” said the statement, adding that the consulate had no other information to release.

As part of a property-wide search, divers returned Tuesday to a pond near the apartment home. Wilson said no new information was available on the search.

Police said Monday that they hadn’t identified any suspects.

The man who called 911 late Sunday said he found the four “on the ground and bleeding.” Police Chief Joel Herzog said police had interviewed the caller, but he wasn’t in custody. Herzog also said Monday that there apparently were other people who lived at the residence, including children who weren’t there at the time and are currently staying with relatives.

According to a police report, the discovery of the victims was reported by Gurpreet Singh, 36, who was identified as a resident of the apartment.

Such violent crime is rare in the township of some 62,000 people roughly 20 miles (323 kilometres) north of Cincinnati.

Herzog reassured residents Monday that he didn’t think there was a threat to the community and that the killings appear “isolated.”

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