Four Found Dead In North Carolina
 

Four found dead in rural N.C.
Sunday, December 7, 2003 Posted: 9:01 PM EST (0201 GMT)
Four bodies were found at this Aventon, N.C. residence.

AVENTON, North Carolina (AP) -- Four people were found dead at a dilapidated rural house on Sunday, including a 10-year-old boy whose body was discovered in the front yard, authorities said.

"At this time, we're investigating it as a homicide," said Nash County Sheriff Jimmy Grimes.

At least one of the victims was shot, but investigators declined to say if they all died from gunshot wounds. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

Authorities arrived at the small, shack-like house surrounded by farmland after getting a call from someone who drove by and thought something "didn't look right," Grimes said.

The victims were identified as Durwood Lynch, 10; his mother, Charlene Lynch, 40; Larry Lynch, 41; and Curley Lynch, 58. The relationships among the adults were not immediately known.

All were members of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe of American Indians, Joyner said.

Neighbors said they were unaware anyone lived in the house, about 45 miles northeast of Raleigh, and did not recall hearing anything overnight.