Three bodies found after ‘deliberately lit’ house fire
The Bonner house where the bodies were found. Photo: ABC
Police are yet to formally identify the bodies found in a burnt-out house in Bonner on Monday, but the ABC understands a woman and her two young children lived there.
The fire destroyed the property in Canberra’s north on Monday morning and ACT Policing said they believe it was deliberately lit.
Authorities were called to the fire about 8.40am, and kept the scene locked down all day.
The street was reopened this morning, but the house remained cordoned off.
Neighbours said they were shocked by the fire, but they did not have much of a relationship with the family who lived at the house.
“They kept to themselves. There was never a lot of activity around the house,” Brendan O’Brien said.
“[I] didn’t really know who lived there. Didn’t even know that there was kids there or anything like that.
“Around here, the kids were always playing, you always see the kids out on the street. But there, that house … [there was] very, very little activity.
Yesterday, the ACT Emergency Services Agency said an initial search while the fire was burning had found no-one inside, but a secondary search after the fire had been extinguished located the three bodies.
ACT Policing Superintendent Scott Moller was unable to confirm the ages or genders of the dead.
“Shortly after a structural assessment was completed, police entered the premises and searched the house,” he said.
“During that search, police tragically located three persons that were deceased.”
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.