Marvin Tobar, 21, and Renee Spata, 18

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Marvin Tobar, a 21-year-old Latino male, and Renee Spata, an 18-year-old Latina, were found dead in a burning house, their bodies charred, at 10441 N. Danube Ave. in the northeast San Fernando Valley. The time of death was 6:30 a.m. Jan. 23.

Police described this as an unusual and perplexing case. They said the Tobar and Spata were ordinary, decent young people with no ties to crime or gangs -- he was an office worker for Time/Warner, she was an acquaintance he had been dating recently. They saw a movie in the Valley before heading back to his rental house, where they were discovered dead the next morning by police officers responding to smoke and flames. Investigators are seeking anyone who might have seen the couple the previous evening, perhaps at a theater in the Valley. Call Det. Efren Gutierrez or Det. Terrence Keyser at (818) 838-9948.