| REPORTING OFFICER'S NARRATIVE(Brief narrative of the facts surrounding the offense and the arrest.)
R/Is arrived at 1305 Mesquite Drive at 2:04 p.m. to execute a search warrant on the premises. Upon arrival, R/Is observed significant portions of the garage and first floor of the residence heavily involved in flames and smoke. R/Is immediately contacted Dispatch to notify the Yoknapatawpha County Fire Department to respond posthaste.
R/Is also requested that a CSU team be dispatched to process the scene after the fire was extinguished.
Environmental conditions at the scene upon arrival are as follows: Weather: Cloudy; Exterior Ambient Temperature: 74°F / 23°C; Relative Humidity: 73%.
R/Is were unable to gain entry to the structure because of the intensity of the heat, flames, and smoke. R/Is observed no signs of life inside the residence or garage.
YCFD Station 14 arrived on the scene at 2:11 p.m. and immediately initiated firefighting measures.
R/Is conducted a preliminary canvass of onlookers, all identified as residents of the immediate area. None reported seeing or hearing anything unusual from the Daniels residence that day. None reported noticing the fire before it was called in by R/Is.
Witnesses reported last seeing Bonnie Daniels around 6:00 p.m. on the evening of November 5, as she was driving into her driveway. Witnesses said they had not seen Bart Daniels in several days. A more detailed witness canvass will be conducted at a later time.
CSU arrived on the scene at 2:39 p.m. and stood by until receiving clearance from the YCFD commander to begin processing the scene.
YCFD commander Lincoln Bales notified R/Is at 4:52 p.m. that the scene was clear and it was relatively safe to enter for investigative purposes. Bales indicated that firefighters had observed two bodies in the front (south side) of the residence.
Bales further reported that, based on preliminary observations of burn patterns and odor within the scene, it appeared that an accelerant was likely involved in the fire.
After receiving notification from YCFD of bodies at the scene, R/Is contacted Dispatch and requested that Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson be notified to respond to the scene.
R/Is entered the scene through the garage. Inside the garage, R/Is observed a gray 2019 Cadillac CTS automobile and a dark red 2023 Toyota Avalon automobile. Both vehicles were partially burned.
R/Is proceeded to the main residence. R/Is observed alligator burn patterns in the garage area and continuing into the main residence to the living room area.
R/Is observed two severely burned bodies in the living room area, both in supine positions on the floor. The victims could not be visually identified, though R/Is noted that one appeared to be male and the other appeared to be female.
In the ashes adjacent to the bodies, R/Is observed a Glock 19 9mm semi-automatic pistol. CSU technicians reported they had found two 9mm shell casings in the ashes near the bodies.
Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson arrived on the scene at 5:30 p.m. and joined R/Is in the living room area. Inspector Johnson pronounced the victims (Person 1 and Person 2) deceased at 5:36 p.m. by visual observation that the victims were severely burned beyond the point of survival. Inspector Johnson was unable to provide an estimate on the time of death or cause of death at the scene but indicated that further details may be available following autopsy.
R/Is notified Inspector Johnson that the possible identities of the deceased are Bart Daniels and Bonnie Daniels and suggested the Coroner's Office contact local dentists to obtain dental records for both of the aforementioned persons for identification purposes.
CSU technicians reported the discovery in the garage area of a hacksaw consistent with the item sought in the original search warrant. R/Is observed the hacksaw was burned in the fire but not destroyed.
R/Is then proceeded to the shop area north of the garage area and examined the area for any potential evidence. At the rear (north end) of the shop, R/Is observed a black, wheeled suitcase with an extendable handle, consistent with the item sought in the search warrant. Initial examination found the suitcase contained clothing, toiletries, and similar items. The suitcase was taken into evidence for further inspection and analysis.
YCFD commander Bales notified R/Is at 7:09 p.m. that, after further examination of the scene, the YCFD had concerns about the integrity of the structure and recommended that R/Is suspend further investigation of the interior until measures could be taken to address the issues.
R/Is moved to the exterior of the residence and inspected the perimeter. Because of the fading daylight, only a cursory inspection could be conducted. No signs of forced entry were noted at any potential entry point to the residence.
R/Is inspected the interior of the pool house but found no immediate signs of recent or previous violence or criminal activity of any kind. However, R/Is asked CSU to include the pool house in their processing of the scene.
At 8:15 p.m., YCFD commander Bales notified R/Is that the structure was likely safe enough to remove the bodies, but he recommended no other actions be taken inside the residence or garage until the following day when firefighters could address the structural issues in the daylight.
The human remains were remanded into the custody of Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson. The bodies were removed from the scene at 8:35 p.m. and transported to the coroner's office for autopsy.
R/Is left the location at 9:15 p.m. Before leaving, R/Is arranged for uniformed officers to be posted at the scene overnight to secure the scene. R/Is instructed CSU to seal the scene upon completion or end-of-shift suspension of processing. CSU to notify R/Is of progress by the end of this date. As of this filing, CSU is still actively processing the scene.
Evidence was remanded into the custody of Forensics Officer T. R. Douglas for transport to the State Crime Lab for routine analysis. CSU is expected to submit an inventory of items taken into evidence within fourteen days of this report, with detailed report(s) of their findings to follow at a later date.
|