Victims’ Acquaintances Arrested in 3 Riverside Slayings : Crime: Suspects had spent two nights partying with the two girls and one young woman before the killings, neighbors say.

The two girls and the young woman who were brutally slain in an apartment here Thursday were killed by two male acquaintances who had spent two nights partying and drinking with them and who now are in custody for the murders, Riverside police said Friday.

Police arrested Richard Lonnie Booker, 18, and Deverick D. Maddox, 21, both of Riverside, who had known the victims for some time, authorities said. Riverside Police Chief Ken Fortier said one suspect--he would not say which--played the leading role, but each man is being considered “co-principal” to the killings.

The two were arrested after a nearby resident recognized one of the suspects as he left the apartment of one of the victims, Fortier said. A press statement said both men had confessed to the slayings, but Fortier declined to comment on that at a subsequent press conference.

He said the killings occurred early Thursday morning after one of the suspects and 12-year-old Corine Gandara watched a movie depicting violent gang life and began arguing.

She was stabbed with a pair of steak knives that had been taped together, causing “very large and unusual wounds,” Fortier said. Tricia Powalka, 19, was awakened by the commotion and confronted the suspect with her gun, but was disarmed and stabbed with the same pair of knives, Fortier said.

The suspect was then confronted by Amanda Elliott, 15, who had been sleeping on a couch. She was struck with the knife and then shot with Powalka’s gun, Fortier said.

The suspects then placed a pillow on an electric range in an apparent attempt to start a fire to cover up the killings. Firefighters were called to the scene, rescued Powalka’s 6-month-old son from a back bedroom, then discovered the bodies when they tripped over one in the smoke-filled apartment.

Corine Gandara was a cousin of Elliott, who previously had baby-sat for Powalka, Fortier said. Neighbors told investigators that the three victims and the two suspects had spent two nights partying together.

Meanwhile, in the second multiple homicide to confront Inland Empire police on Thursday, San Bernardino police said Friday that a 3 1/2-year-old survivor of a home invasion robbery told investigators that two or more Asian men killed the other five members of his family.

The boy’s parents, older sister and two brothers were shot execution-style and their house had been ransacked, said San Bernardino Police Department spokeswoman Brenda Shaw.

Killed were Son (Henry) Nguyen, 44; his wife, Trinh Yen Tran, 35; daughter Doan Hoang, 15, and sons Daniel Nguyen, 11, and David Nguyen, 10, Shaw said. The 3-year-old boy is recovering from a gunshot to his arm, she said.

The deaths were discovered after an aunt called the family home Thursday morning and the youngster answered the phone and related what happened, police said. Neighbors said they heard a quick burst of gunshots Wednesday night, but did not call police.

Shaw said there were no suspects in the slayings.