According to search warrants, the fire marshal found three separate accelerant patterns with two separate origin points. It also said investigators recovered three cell phones, a pistol and a magazine extender from the scene.
GARNER, N.C. (WTVD) -- Wake County Sheriff's Office is now investigating a deadly house fire in Garner as arson and homicide.
The investigation started Tuesday morning, after firefighters responded around 9:30 to the home on Rand Road near the intersection of Ten Ten Road. The Wake County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) said firefighters found the bodies of 49-year-old Shannon Collins, a 15-year-old, a 13-year-old, and two cats after gaining access inside the house.
Thursday, search warrants obtained by ABC11 Eyewitness News paint a clearer picture of what happened Tuesday morning. They revealed the Wake County Sheriff's Office searched the home and car at the address about five hours into their investigation.
The document said the first gunshot wound was found after all three bodies were pulled into the front yard. While inside, the fire marshal found three separate accelerant patterns with two separate origin points. It also said investigators recovered three cell phones, a pistol, and a magazine extender from the scene.
One neighbor who didn't want to be identified was heartbroken by the news.
"I would see them walking back and forth," said the woman. "The kids help cut the grass. You see how it's cut. It upsets me to think that those two little boys were treated like that and done that way. They didn't get out and play in the yard like other kids do. They always stayed to themselves."
An incident report filed Monday lists the wife and mother of the victims as a domestic violence victim. It was filed the day before the house fire.
ABC11 News saw family members at the house posting no trespassing signs on the home and around the property on the fence. They were seen wearing masks, gloves, and carrying materials.
A friend and coworker started an online fundraiser for the victim's wife and mother. It read that the pain and heartbreak she is enduring are unfathomable. The hope is that the money will allow her the time and resources she needs to move ahead. The neighbor said the family kept to themselves. She hardly ever saw the wife and mother, who often worked as a nurse practitioner.
"Duke Raleigh Hospital is what he told me," she said.
The WCSO said this fire remains under investigation. They aren't looking for any additional suspects at this time.