Investigators find body in bag after house fire in Tacoma

TACOMA – A house fire in south Tacoma led to the discovery of a body in a bag Friday morning, and a man was injured in the blaze, fire and police officials said.

The house was declared a homicide scene, police Sgt. Thomas Williams said.

Police were awaiting the results of an autopsy after the Pierce County medical examiner was unable to determine the victim’s gender or time of death, Williams said.

Firefighters rescued a man from the burning two-story house and were trying to determine the cause of the fire when they found the body, Deputy Fire Chief Jolene Davis said. The injured man was taken to a hospital for treatment and his condition was not known.

Police were not able to talk to the injured man, who was under sedation, Williams said.

Neighbors told police a woman lived in the house with her son, about 9 or 10, and a boyfriend or husband, he said, adding that officers were trying to locate the residents.

The relationship between the residents and the person who was killed was not immediately known, and detectives were checking to determine if violence had been reported at the house previously.

The fire apparently began inside the house, Davis said.

“We have a lot of questions and not a lot of answers,” she added.

Flames were shooting through the roof when firefighters arrived shortly before 6 a.m.

A neighbor, Sherry Upchurch, said she was awakened by the firetrucks.

“The fire was just shooting up,” Upchurch said. “You could hear the crack of the windows.”

Damage was confined mainly to the upper floor, where a bedroom is located.

The former owner of the house, Judie Ross, said her sister owns the home and had been renting it to a family for several months.