May 20, 2016 - 8:00 AM
MOULTRIE, Ga. - The Latest on the killings of five people whose bodies were found after a south Georgia house fire (all times local):
11 a.m.
A state law officer said investigators were suspicious from the start about a house fire initially believed to have killed five people in south Georgia. An autopsy later found all five victims had been shot.
Authorities arrested 25-year-old Jeffrey Alan Peacock on murder and arson charges in all five deaths after the Sunday morning blaze.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Jamy Steinberg said at a Friday news conference the first question that came to mind after the fire was this: How could five adults not get out of a burning house?
From there, an intensive investigation began, which included hand-sifting the charred remains of the home near Moultrie in search of evidence.
Steinberg said detectives still want to hear from anyone who saw a 1995 green Chevrolet pickup truck in the area Sunday morning.
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9:15 a.m.
State investigators say five people found dead in a south Georgia house fire were actually shot and the blaze was set to cover up those crimes.
In a news release, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says they've arrested a suspect — 25-year-old Jeffrey Alan Peacock — on murder and arson charges in all five deaths after the Sunday morning fire in Colquitt County.
Authorities said shortly after the fire that Peacock had been the only one from the house to escape the blaze. The GBI said Peacock knew the victims, but the motive for the killings is unknown.
It wasn't immediately known Friday morning whether Peacock had a lawyer who could be reached for comment.
The GBI plans a news conference later Friday to release more details in the case.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016