GUILTY CA - Adam, 38, & Gavin Buchanan, 8, Molly McAfee, 37, Greenwood, 13 Sep 2015 *Arrest*

New Posts

I agree Steelman, it seems as though they completely jumped the gun on this. It does appear accidental. Raiding the man's office is overkill unless they have information early on that points in another direction.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
I'm not certain it will be ruled an accident.
I think the sheriff department must have a bee in their bonnet about something.
I hope they have a big bee to jump from a family tragedy all the way to homicide.
There are lots of words between accident and homicide: suspicious circumstances, foul play, maybe yet to be determined.

I hope there is closure for the families loved ones.
 
Does anyone know how long it takes to determine whether a fire was caused by accelerants? Just wondering, as accelerants would indicate arson which would naturally lead them to deduct that it was homicide. JMO
 
bizaleth said:
I've been thinking about something that sticks out to me a bit about the time period the family came to the cabin. During that weekend, the whole area was heavily blanketed with smoke due to the nearby Butte Fire. I've lived here for several years and through many nearby wildfires, but the smoke from this one was worse, and looked like low, thick storm clouds over everything. My eyes and throat both burned that weekend and I had to stay indoors as air quality was not only uncomfortable, but deemed unsafe.

I can't imagine choosing to come to my vacation cabin when everything was so smokey and doing anything outdoors would have been uncomfortable and not very fun. It is of course possible (and maybe even very likely) that they didn't know ahead of time about the conditions.

This probably has nothing to do with the case, but has been on my mind.
Click to expand...

I wonder if they arrived at the cabin and found some ppl staying there .
 
It sounds to me like the missing families relatives feel like the bodies found in the cabin are those of the missing.
 
I believe they can tell almost immediately if an accelerant is used. My friend's a firefighter and I remember her saying she'd attended a house fire and could smell petrol as soon as they entered the property, turned out to be arson. Of course, the firefighters sniff test would have to be backed up with science.
 
I didn't read the article, so if it in there, forgive me...
Is it possible the bodies were dead before the fire was set and they were brought there already deceased?
 
AC's Grandma said:
I didn't read the article, so if it in there, forgive me...
Is it possible the bodies were dead before the fire was set and they were brought there already deceased?
Click to expand...

Anything is possible I guess, but how likely would it be ? These bodies were burned so badly, not only are they having trouble identifying them, they completely missed a body !

I have serious doubts the ME is going to be able to establish a cause and manner of death other than death by fire. I think trying to conclude whether they were dead before or after the fire started is going to be an impossibility, considering the state they were in when discovered in the ashes. Apparently the ME is having to deal with bodies that are not much more than ashes themselves.

I still think it was an unfortunate accident, fires such as this happen all the time. It makes sense they would launch an "investigation" to help offset the knee-jerk reaction LE had when they believed only two bodies were present. They completely jumped the gun while raiding a home and business while thinking a crazed killer was on the loose.

This could have been something as simple as an outdoor barbeque or firepit being left unattended when the family went to bed that night, and the wind picked up and blew hot embers onto the house or caught nearby vegetation on fire. That would explain the fire starting on the outside of the house.

Note to the cops: That's what people do when they go camping.
 
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/No-answers-yet-in-killings-fire-at-missing-6530682.php

Sheriff’s investigators said they are treating the case as a homicide and arson. Johnson said investigators were trying to determine if the crimes were “committed by someone who killed himself” or by someone still at large.

“There’s a possibility there’s a murderer out there and we have to protect the community,” Johnson said.
 
steelman said:
That would explain the fire starting on the outside of the house.
Click to expand...

Your mention of the fire starting outside of the cabin is the first I've heard of that. From what I read, the original fire started in the cabin. Firefighters responded to a 10 acre grass fire around 11:00 AM at which point they realized the cabin had already completely burned.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/bre...unty-homicide-arson-investigation-opened-fire

Anything is possible, and I suppose that a fire which completely consumed the house could have occurred while the family was sleeping only to be discovered at 11:00 AM. Conditions are really dry around the area, though, and wildfires burning at the same time that this occurred nearby spread incredibly fast because of the dryness as well as the wind. People around the area are on high alert for fires, and report any sign of smoke quickly. We have spotter planes routinely flying for this purpose, as well.

I'm just really curious to know whether or not an accelerent was used.

I also found this somewhat confusing account interesting.

"His neighbors at the Garden Valley cabin believe he and his family were there the day the fire started.
“I talked to them a few times, and they seemed like pretty nice people,” said Josepha Parra.
She noticed Buchanan’s truck later that night.
“It was like at 1:30 a.m., because I just got home and I saw a light—a car going in and out,” she said. “It was a white truck; it looked to me like his truck."

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015...orado-county-cabin-of-missing-benicia-family/
 
Didn't the mom in this family make reference on her FB that she had taken her oldest son to the ER for a leg or ankle injury, and she was worried about how he was going to make it up to the cabin?
 
http://www.abc10.com/story/news/2015/09/22/el-dorado-fatal-fire-mystery/72654530/

Property records show Buchanan, a licensed general contractor, paid $210,000 for the unfinished cabin on 19 wooded acres along Highway 193 and closed on the sale Sept. 12, 2014.

Therese Beechler of Select Estate Properties, which brokered the transaction, said Buchanan was looking forward to using his professional skills to finish the work started by the previous owner.

Neighbor Dan Conroy said Buchanan wasted no time getting busy. "Every weekend," Conroy said. "A few times during the week they'd be around, but mostly weekends."
 
bizaleth said:
I also found this somewhat confusing account interesting.

"His neighbors at the Garden Valley cabin believe he and his family were there the day the fire started.
“I talked to them a few times, and they seemed like pretty nice people,” said Josepha Parra.
She noticed Buchanan’s truck later that night.
“It was like at 1:30 a.m., because I just got home and I saw a light—a car going in and out,” she said. “It was a white truck; it looked to me like his truck."

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015...orado-county-cabin-of-missing-benicia-family/
Click to expand...


http://www.abc10.com/story/news/2015/09/22/el-dorado-fatal-fire-mystery/72654530/

According to the above article, there were two trucks impounded, a business white truck at the cabin and the family white truck at the Benicia residence.
 
A nearby resident shot footage of the fire from a distance.

[video=youtube;sG7_cW8_RT8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG7_cW8_RT8[/video]
 
The 16 yo son has been arrested. It was just on a bay area news station....husband just told me. No link, sorry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 119 more.
Total: 3,240 (members: 120, guests: 3,120)

Online statistics

Members online
120
Guests online
3,120
Total visitors
3,240
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,496
Messages
17,969,881
Members
228,789
Latest member
Soccergirl500
Back
Top