Grisly death scene uncovered in California

‘‘This is the worst mass murder we’ve ever had,’’ Police chief Jerry Dyer said. The police and neighbours on Saturday described the household as reclusive and given to unusual behavior.

Patrick Collazo, 44, said Wesson would not talk to him or other neighbours. Collazo said he would see the women of the house come out at 11 pm each night to rake pine needles on the lawn. Dyer said investigators were told Wesson was a ‘‘controlling’’ man who sometimes pulled women by their hair.

Wesson’s relationships with women and his own children were a subject of speculation on Saturday. Police said they were looking into reports that the family practiced polygamy and that there had been incest. Two of Wesson’s slain children were also his grandchildren, the chief said. ‘‘We are trying to determine if it is a cult, a sect, a different belief system, or something else,’’ he said.

Lt. Art Alvarado of the Fresno police said that officers were dispatched to Wesson’s neighborhood around 2:15 pm on Friday for a child-custody issue. When they arrived, two women said they had been trying to pick up their children from Wesson’s house. ‘‘At first he was cooperative and said he would release the children,’’ Lieutenant Alvarado said. ‘‘But later he reneged, ran to the bedroom,’’ and locked himself up. The two women told the police that Wesson had a firearm, so police called in negotiators and a SWAT team. ‘‘During the wait, police didn’t hear anything, no screaming or yelling,’’ Lieutenant Alvarado said. ‘‘While police were setting up, he came surrendered.’’

Officers saw stains on Wesson that looked like blood. The police then detained Wesson and searched the house. They discovered a pile of bodies in a room and 10 coffins in another. Wesson was then arrested. Because the room was so small and the bodies were piled up, it took several hours for investigators to count them all, the police said.

‘‘There were several officers, including myself, that shed some tears at the scene, especially when the children were removed,’’ Dyer said. ‘‘It’s disturbing.’’ The department called in counselors for some investigators. Robert Hensel, Fresno’s chief deputy coroner, said his office was having trouble identifying some victims ‘‘because some of them are so young, we have no fingerprints.’’

Another of Wesson’s children, Serafino Wesson, 19, went to the home on Saturday to collect some of his belongings. Serafino Wesson said he had left home on Friday morning and did not know of any problems until he went past the house in the afternoon and saw the police surrounding it. ‘‘My nine brothers and sisters are dead and they say he did it,’’ Serafino Wesson said. ‘‘I find it hard to believe. He’s such a good guy.’’

He said his father had the coffins because he collected antiques, and the police chief said Wesson might have been using them for furniture. Serafino Wesson said he was ‘‘very, very close’’ to his father and loved having such a large family. ‘‘It was the way a family should be.’’