Dead SoCal Family Dressed in All Black
Twin Daughters Laid Out on Bed, Grandmother on Chaise; Both Parents Had Been Shot
The decomposing bodies of five family members found inside an upscale Southern California home Sunday were all dressed in black.
"No hoods, nothing ceremonious, just black clothing," Lt. Erin Giudice, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, told ABC News.
Giudice said she did not know whether the black clothing had any specific meaning, religious or otherwise.
The bizarre crime scene detail only confuses a homicide investigation involving three generations of a Turkish-American family. Authorities late Tuesday identified the five family members found dead inside the gated community home overlooking the Pacific Ocean as Manas Ucar, 58; his wife, Margrit, 49; their 21-year-old twin daughters, Margo and Grace; and Fransuhi Kesisoglu, the 72-year-old mother of Margrit.
Giudice also confirmed that the twin daughters were found laid out side-by-side on a bed in the downstairs bedroom of the million-dollar home. Their grandmother, a resident alien in the United States, was lying on a chaise longue.
Authorities had already revealed that all five bodies were found in a bedroom space connected to a closet by a bathroom. The bodies of Manas and Margrit Ucar were found in the closet area. Both had been shot, and a pair of handguns, one of which was registered to Margrit, were found near their bodies.
Regardless of the gunshot wounds, the Orange County coroner has not yet determined conclusively the cause of death for any of the five family members. The identification process has been slowed by the badly decomposed state of the bodies, and toxicology results will not be complete for six to eight weeks, Giudice said.
Authorities have said that the family members may have been dead inside the house for up to three weeks, but authorities have resisted speculation about what may have caused the deaths, such as whether it was a murder-suicide. They have said, however, that they do not believe a killer is on the loose. There were no signs of forced entry.
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