Goleta Man Says He Killed Parents, 2 Young Sons: Sheriff

A 46-year-old man has told authorities he stabbed his parents and his two young sons to death in their home near Santa Barbara, the sheriff said Tuesday, a day after the four victims and a dog were found dead in the Goleta home.

Nicolas Holzer, 46, told police he believed it was his destiny to carry out the killings, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

Holzer was arrested without incident and is being held without bail. It is not immediately known whether he has an attorney.

Deputies found all the victims — Holzer's mother and father and his sons, aged 13 and 10, as well as a dog — dead with multiple stab wounds in the home in the 600 block of Walnut Park Lane just after 11 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

They said Holzer summoned them to the home near the University of California, Santa Barbara, after the killings.

He told a dispatcher in a calm, matter-of-fact voice that he had killed the family, they said.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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