Murder-Suicide Possible; Gun Found At Fire Scene

The discovery of a gun at the scene of a triple killing in north Portland has raised the possibility the case is a murder-suicide.

“It definitely opens up questions,” police spokesman Lt. Cliff Madison said Wednesday.

The bodies of Michael Savage, 54, his wife Alvera Savage, 50, and their son John, 10, were found by firefighters in an upstairs bedroom of their burning duplex early Tuesday.

Madison said police would continue to consider the case a triple homicide pending the outcome of autopsies and ballistics tests. The remains were severely burned, making the autopsies difficult.

Police have not determined if the gun was used in the killings.

Firefighters initially thought the victims had died in the fire, but later found all had been shot. The woman and boy were found lying across a bed. The man was lying at the foot of the bed.

Neighbors and acquaintances described the family as kind and somewhat reclusive. Some said the family appeared to be developmentally disabled.

The couple filled the house with books, had no television and, until recently, had no chairs in the house, said family friend Norma Garven. She described the Savages as eccentric and that, until recently, they had home schooled their child.