Five Bodies Found in Two Torched Homes

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. —  Firefighters battling blazes at two homes in neighboring New York communities on Thursday found five people dead, at least four of them killed by shotgun blasts, police said.

Authorities said both fires had been set in an apparent domestic dispute on Christmas morning. They declined to immediately identify any of the victims, all adults, but said they believed the three female victims were related.

According to Schenectady Police Chief Michael N. Geraci Sr., a man went to the home of the first victim, his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend, and killed her before going to the nearby apartment, shooting three people and turning the gun on himself.

“It’s not uncommon for law enforcement to see holiday massacres,” said Schenectady County Dist. Atty. Robert Carney. “When they happen, they are usually crimes of passion.”

Firefighters were called to a house fire about 5 a.m. in the community of Niskayuna, just outside Schenectady, and found a woman dead inside. Authorities did not immediately disclose the cause of her death but said that it was a homicide and that she did not die in the fire.

Thirty minutes later, smoke was reported at the apartment in Schenectady. Two men and two women were found fatally shot inside, and a shotgun was found in the apartment.

The blaze was contained to the apartment where the bodies were found, officials said.

Geraci said there were no prior domestic violence calls to police from the Niskayuna home. But interviews with family members indicate “there may have been some problem that never made it to the attention of law enforcement,” Geraci said.