Police: 4 related killings at ND home, trailer

[January 29, 2011]  MINOT, N.D. (AP) -- Four people were found dead in what investigators are calling related homicides at a home and a trailer in North Dakota, and a "person of interest" was being questioned, police said.

A female was found dead in the home in Minot on Friday afternoon and three other bodies were discovered in a trailer home in the city, said Minot police Sgt. Shane Haug.

"We believe the two incidents are related," Minot Police Chief Jeff Balentine said in a statement. "A person of interest has been located and is being questioned."

The victims have been identified, but police did not release their names or ages Friday night. The bodies will be sent to the state medical examiner for autopsies.

Minot, which is about 100 miles north of Bismarck, has a population of about 36,000 and is home to the Minot Air Force Base, which has about 4,800 active-duty military personnel. It's also in the shadow of the state's booming oil patch and has benefited from the region's increased crude production in recent years.

The North Dakota Attorney General's office said 15 homicides occurred in North Dakota in 2009, up from four in 2008 -- the lowest on record. The 2010 statistics were not yet available, but the state has averaged about 11 homicides annually.

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Ward County Sheriff's Office are assisting Minot police with the investigation.

[Associated Press]

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