Hours after six people, including two young children, were found murdered at a home southeast of town the day after Christmas, a daughter of two of the victims and her boyfriend were arrested at the crime scene.

The homicides took place Christmas Eve, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office. Arrested were Joseph Thomas McEnroe and Michele Kristen Anderson, both 29.

The victims were her parents, Wayne Scott Anderson, 60, and Judy Anderson, 61; Michele’s brother, Scott Anderson; his wife, Erica, both 32; and their two children, 6-year-old Olivia and 3-year-old Nathan.

The elder Andersons were apparently gunned down first. The killings occurred at Michele’s parents’ home in the 1800 block of 346th Ave. NE, southeast of Carnation. Michele and McEnroe lived on a mobile home on the same property.

Deputies said a dispute over money may have been one of the motives. A relative said Michele had quarreled with the family for years. The bodies were found at or near the homes on the heavily wooded property.

Judy, a letter carrier who worked out of the Carnation Post Office, was scheduled to be at work the day after Christmas and when she didn’t show up, a fellow employee went to her house and found some of the bodies. The 911 call to report the murders was made about 8 a.m.

A commuter heading north through town that morning said she saw “four sheriff’s cars just screaming across the (Tolt) bridge just after 8 (going south).”

King County sheriff’s deputies initially confirmed the deaths of three people – two adults and a child. Later in the day the number of dead was reported to be six. All had been shot.

Detective Bob Connor said at a news conference Wednesday that there were “multiple victims and that the investigation is expected to be lengthy.”

King County Sheriff Sue Rahr arrived at the house in the early afternoon. Between 15 and 20 law enforcement personnel were reported to be working at the scene at the time.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said that while investigators were at the crime scene, a man and a woman, who turned out to be Michele and her boyfriend, arrived shortly before 11 a.m. Detectives began talking with them to see if they had any information about the deaths, and eventually developed probable cause for the arrest of both.

Wayne Anderson worked as a Boeing engineer. Scott Anderson and his family lived in Black Diamond and were visiting his parents on Christmas Eve.

A Seattle Times article reported Michele and McEnroe had met on an online dating site five years ago.

Many people in the area were nervous and shocked after hearing of the crimes, some of them saying they were going somewhere else for the night.

Carnation resident Gloria Nelson said she didn’t know any of the family members and hadn’t been out too much to talk to people but was sure, “it was the topic of conversation everywhere.”

She said she was aware Judy delivered mail to the Carnation Ixtapa. A rural resident said Judy was his letter carrier and described her as “a wonderful person who would do anything for you.”

Sheriff’s detectives and the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, along with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, continued the investigation through Thursday and Friday. Personnel from King County Search & Rescue conducted a sweep of the property looking for additional evidence.The bodies were not removed until Thursday.

Urquhart said detectives believe the shootings were as a result of a long-standing dispute over several issues between the daughter and her parents, adding the Prosecutor’s Office has told them they planned to file murder charges against both on Friday, December 28th.

An investigation also continues over questions surrounding a 9-1-1 hang-up call that was made from the house at 5:13 p.m. Christmas Eve. Urquhart said detectives have not yet established a definitive timeline as to when each of the victims was killed, but it appears the call came at the end of the murder spree.

He said the call receiver did not hear any talking on the call, which lasted about 10 seconds. The information was forwarded to the dispatcher with the call receiver’s notation, “Heard a lot of yelling in the background….sounded more like party noise than angry heated arguing.”

The first two available patrol cars were dispatched at 5:19 p.m. Two calls were made by the call receiver back into the residence, but the phone went to voice mail each time.

The two deputies arrived at the same time, 5:45 p.m. They found a locked gate and did not go farther onto the property. According to the dispatcher log, the deputies said, “Gate is locked, unable to gain access.”

Urquhart said department policy regarding 9-1-1 hang- up calls is that if the situation can’t be resolved by the call receiver, then the deputies are to track down the phone and find out why 9-1-1 was called.