Suspect Seized in 4 Glen Avon Slayings

Four adults were found shot to death Sunday in a mobile home in this rural ranch community near Riverside. Authorities later arrested a 28-year-old man in the slayings.

Riverside County Sheriff Cois Byrd said that a fifth victim, a woman who was shot in the face and stomach, telephoned authorities at 5:50 a.m. as the assault was going on.

“It appears at this time that she will survive,” Byrd said of Elizabeth Kimmett, 18, of Pedley, who was being treated at an undisclosed hospital.

A 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy were also found inside unharmed. They were placed in the care of relatives, Byrd said.

Brett Alexander Hale of Riverside was apprehended in a brushy river bottom in Colton, 10 miles east of the crime scene. At a nearby Colton beer bar, police found a white pick-up truck matching the description of one seen leaving the mobile home early Sunday morning, Byrd said.

“Colton police used two police dogs and a San Bernardino County sheriff’s helicopter to track down the suspect through the brushy area in the river bottom,” Byrd said.

The unarmed Hale was taken into custody without incident, Byrd said.

The victims were identified as Ronald Holliday, 28, and his wife, Calleen, 23, the parents of the unharmed children; David Kelley, 28, and Jennifer McCaughan, 20. Their bodies were sprawled on the floor of the mobile home’s kitchen.

Investigators also found a small safe near the bodies but it was not known whether it had been opened or what it contained.

“We’re not far enough into it to have any motive,” Sheriff’s Lt. Jan Duke said.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Don Bender said detectives collected evidence at the scene, including foot and tire prints as well as shotgun shells and numerous rounds from a .22-caliber weapon.

The Hollidays lived in the mobile home behind a residence on Tyrolite Street, said Calleen’s father, James Neal, 60.

“We are very confused about all this,” said Neal, who lives a few blocks from the mobile home.

“It’s a puzzle we can’t figure out ourselves--we are waiting for the pieces to fall together,” added Neal’s son, Dennis, who said that little was known about Hale beyond that “he was a friend of Ron’s. They worked together in a carpet-laying business.”

Late Sunday, Hale was booked for investigation of murder, sheriff’s deputies said.