march 6, 2008

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Surviving kids in Memphis killings guarded

WHO: Cecil Dotson, 30, who was renting the house; Hollis Seals, 33; Shindri Roberson, 20, and Marissa Rene Williams, 26. The children were ages 9, 5, 4, 2 and 2 months.
WHERE: MEMPHIS, Tennessee
WHEN: Thu March 6, 2008
WHAT: Three youngsters found wounded but alive in a house where six other people were slain are under police protection, and not even their relatives can visit them in the hospital.
WHY: Police have offered no motive for the killings, which apparently occurred over the weekend at a small brick house in a neighborhood where low-income homes sit near cheap motels and junkyards. Authorities identified the adult victims Wednesday as Cecil Dotson, 30, who was renting the house; Hollis Seals, 33; Shindri Roberson, 20, and Marissa Rene Williams, 26. They declined to identify the children.
HOW: Billy E. Gunn, whose house is behind the home where the bodies were found, said he heard five rapid gunshots and then three slow ones around 9 p.m. Sunday. He said he didn't call police because it's such a common sound. "It wouldn't have mattered; it takes the police so long to get out here," he said. Ricky Hall, 52, who lives near the home where the bodies were found, says the neighborhood has grown more unkempt and dangerous in the past few years, with many rental homes sitting empty. Investigators say they have few leads to work with. The Memphis City Council announced a $30,000 reward Wednesday for anyone who can help solve the case. Police refuse to say if the slayings could be connected to Dotson's violent past.