LIVONIA, Mich., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Prosecutors Thursday prepared charges against as many as six people suspected in the weekend execution-style slayings of a suburban Detroit jeweler, his three children and his mother, who was visiting from Italy.
The community, one of the safest in the country according to the FBI, remained in shock over the deaths of Marco Pesce, 38; his children, Carlo 12, Sabrina, 9, and Melissa, 9; and his mother, Maria Vergati, 68. Pesce's estranged wife, Diane Jameel, was not at the home at the time.
Police said they had arrested two suspects Tuesday in Detroit. The third suspect was arrested in Flint. As many as three others also were in custody.
"I'm confident we have a strong case," Police Chief Peter Kunst said, adding that police had recovered a number of pieces of evidence.
Police found the bodies of Pesce and his family Sunday after relatives asked officers to check on them because they could not raise the family by phone. The home had been ransacked. The victims had been shot.
Prosecutors hoped to file five homicide counts against at least two of the suspects by late Thursday.
