Investigators found three marijuana “grow operations” at rural residences where 8 family members were killed in southern Ohio, state Attorney General Mike DeWine said on Sunday.
It was clear the victims, ranging in age from 16 to 44, were purposely singled out for attack, most of them while they slept, rather than killed at random or in a crime of passion, Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said.
The officials refused to comment on any possible motive or say whether they had identified any suspects. At times, DeWine used plural pronouns, he insisted investigators remained unsure whether they were seeking one or more perpetrators.
DeWine further added that eighteen pieces of evidence had been sent to a state crime lab for analysis and that 50- 60 people had been interviewed in the case, with more expected to be questioned.
The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family and were found shot in the head in four separate homes on Friday in or near Piketon, a town about 95 miles east of Cincinnati in south-central Ohio.
The officials said the victims included a mother who was slain in bed with her 4-day-old infant in her arms. That baby and two other small children present during the killings – a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old – all survived.