Police in Reedley, California arrested a 17-year-old boy and two others in connection to the murder of four family members who lived next door to them, The Associated Press reported.
The teen, whose name is being withheld because he is a juvenile, inflicted “substantial, violent wound injuries” to the four victims, resulting in their deaths, according to Reedley Police Chief Joe Garza.
The teenager had his first appearance in juvenile court on January 11 where he entered the juvenile equivalent of a not-guilty plea. He was then remanded into custody. Prosecutors filed a motion requesting that the teen be tried as an adult, which would bring a possible sentence of life without parole.
According to the Reedley Police, the 17-year-old lived next door to the victims in the Central Valley town of Reedley just southwest of Fresno.
The bodies of three of the victims, 81-year-old Billy Bond, his son Darrell Bond, 61, and his granddaughter-in-law Guadalupe Bond, 44, were found buried in a shallow grave in the backyard of their Reedley home on Saturday, January 6.
The body of the fourth victim, 43-year-old Matthew Bond, Guadalupe’s husband, was discovered during a search of the suspect’s home on January 9 in the detached garage.
KSEE reported on January 10 that following the search, the teenager, along with his mother, 34-year-old Brynn Curtis, and her boyfriend Rafael Gonzalez, 21, were taken into custody.
The search of the property also turned up multiple weapons.
While Reedley police have not provided a motive for the murders, they did say that the safe inside the Bond home had been forced open and money and guns had been removed, according to the Fresno Bee.
Brynn Curtis was present during her son’s juvenile court appearance, along with other family members. She and Gonzalez were charged with being accessories to the killings after the fact and were both freed on bond.
