A 911 call reporting a “strange odor” from a duplex apartment in this northeast Missouri city led police to the bodies of seven people.
The victims were all thought to be residents of Kirksville, about 165 miles northwest of St. Louis. Police Chief Jim Hughes did not release the victims’ names or ages, pending notification of relatives.
Authorities expected autopsy results Monday.
Paramedics found the bodies around 2:30 p.m. Sunday after dispatchers received a 911 call reporting “a number of unresponsive individuals... and a strange odor” inside the home, police Chief Jim Hughes said.
The yellow duplex sits on the corner of a quiet cul-de-sac a few blocks from the Truman State campus. Ten duplexes, all neatly kept, line the street, and a swing set sits in the back yard of the home where the bodies were found.
“It’s horrible,” said Regina Lee, who lives two doors down from the duplex. “To find seven people in there. I just can’t understand it.”
A large crowd, including many relatives of the victims, gathered in the street near the taped-off investigation scene Sunday night seeking answers. After helping make preliminary identification of the victims, many in the crowd cried.
Hughes said no suspects were being sought for the time being.
“We haven’t ruled anything out nor have we ruled anything in,” Hughes told the Kirksville Daily Express. “We are in the very beginning, basic stages and we are taking it very carefully.”