A man considered a person of interest in the deaths of four people whose charred bodies were found outside a northwest Missouri home over the weekend has been charged with stealing a car from the residence.
Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd said at a news conference Monday that Grayden L. Denham, 24, of Edgerton, was charged with one count of stealing related to the theft of a 2012 Nissan Versa belonging to Russell and Shirley Denham.
The bodies of two women, one man and an infant were found late Friday night outside the Platte County home where Grayden Denham had lived for many years, Zahnd said. It appeared all four victims had been set on fire, Platte County Sheriff Mark Owen said.
Both Owen and Zahnd declined to identify the victims or provide any details about why their deaths have been ruled homicides.
Family members in Missouri have identified the victims as relatives of Denham.
"As you can imagine, this is a horrendous thing to happen to any family, to any community," Zahnd said.
Denham was taken into custody on Sunday after being found walking naked in northwestern Arizona. The sheriff's office in Yavapai County, Arizona, said Denham was jailed on suspicion of theft and displaying a fictitious license plate.
Yavapai County sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said the man gave the wrong date of birth when initially approached by law enforcement. D'Evelyn said the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Flagstaff due to concern about his medical condition.
D'Evelyn said a motel manager reported a suspicious parked car that didn't belong to its guests later Sunday morning. He said the car was unlocked and had a key in the ignition, and that it and its license plate had been reported stolen.
The man's Missouri identification, which has his real date of birth, was found in a wallet in a pile of clothes next to the car, D'Evelyn said.
