Cops Snag Possible Suspect in Bonfire Deaths
KNBC
Police dig though backyard where they believe suspect hold a bonfire to dispose of murder victims
Hemet police questioned a "person of interest'' Monday in the case of two teenage boys who were last seen at a home where a bonfire was lit and human remains were later found.
It was not immediately known who the person of interest is.
"Over the course of the holiday weekend, the investigation led police to a person of interest in the case and the detectives are questioning the person at this time,'' Hemet police Capt. Tony Margis said in a written statement.
Jose Campos and Adrian Rios, both 17, remain unaccounted for. Some neighborhood residents have said that a Nov. 15 bonfire at the home in the 1400 block of Bluejay Way emitted a powerful stench.
Campos had lived in the home for the past two months with his parents, but neighbors told broadcast outlets the home had been vacant for about a week before the night of the bonfire.
Rios' girlfriend, Felicia Sharpe, 17, was initially believed to have been missing, but she turned up Wednesday. Police have not commented on what she may have told them about the boys.
Human remains -- still listed as John/Jane Doe by the coroner's office -- were found Nov. 18 in shallow graves in the backyard of the house. Investigators returned to the home last week and found more remains.
``The remains could be one or both of them, or it could be somebody else entirely,'' Hemet police Sgt. James Waters said.
Identifying burned remains can take weeks, a coroner's investigator said in a telephone interview Saturday.
Authorities said the parents of the missing teens were cooperating with the investigation.
