From: Thomas A Chandler, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pitchfork attacker kills kids Man breaks into a rural Merced home and stabs two youngsters to death in their beds. Bee News Services (Published August 24, 2000) MERCED -- Merced County sheriff's officials said they had no clue late Wednesday about the identity of a man shot and killed by deputies after he broke into a home and fatally stabbed two children with a pitchfork. "Somebody's in my house that I don't know; they're stabbing my brother and sister with a pitchfork," 14-year-old Jessica Lynne Carpenter cried to an emergency dispatcher just moments after escaping the attack with her two sisters. "I don't know who it is. I just woke up and he was in the house." Twelve hours later, investigators weren't much closer to identifying the man who killed Jessica's siblings, Assistant Sheriff Hank Strength said. Ashley Danielle Carpenter, 9, and John William Carpenter, 8, were found dead in their beds in the home just outside Merced. Anna Marie Carpenter, 13, was hospitalized in satisfactory condition with eight puncture wounds. She escaped through a window with Jessica and 9-year-old Vanessa Trinity Carpenter. "We think what happened is as he was stabbing Anna, one of the other girls screamed, and he turned his head and she escaped," Strength said. The three girls ran about 300 yards to a neighbor's home, where they asked Juan Fuentes if he had a gun and could "go over there and take care of this guy," Fuentes said. When he hesitated, the girls called 911. When sheriff's deputies arrived, they entered the house through a window and were rushed by the pitchfork-wielding suspect. "He was pointing it at them and going right after them; he wouldn't stop," Strength said. "They were hollering at him to stop, but he wouldn't stop. Finally, they had to shoot him." The man -- in his early to mid-30s with brown hair and a medium build -- carried no identification, Strength said. The parents of the victims also couldn't identify the man when they saw his body. Detectives said they hope to discover the man's identity through fingerprint databases. If not, they may release a photo to determine if someone recognizes him, Strength said. Investigators spent Wednesday putting together what happened inside the house at 4200 Vasser Avenue. The man apparently broke into the home about 9:45 a.m., not long after the children's parents left, and piled furniture against the doors. Then, he went from room to room attacking the children, at least three of whom were in bed. Ashley and John were found dead in their beds, Strength said. Jessica told the sheriff's dispatcher she had been in bed when she heard the commotion. "He came from nowhere," Strength said. "Right now, we have no motive; we have no reason why this thing even happened. There's no connection between the suspect and the family." Neighbors on the street that is surrounded by farmland appeared dazed by what had happened. "It's just mind-blowing that someone kills a family two houses down in the country where we have a safe haven," said John Ortega, who said until Wednesday he didn't lock the doors of his house. John and Tephanie Carpenter recently moved into the house and were home-schooling their five children, who were already fixtures in the neighborhood. They were polite and friendly as they buzzed up and down the street on all-terrain vehicles, neighbors said. "They were a close-knit family.... They were good people," said neighbor Terri Buessing. "You'd think that out in the country, none of that would happen." Bee staff writer Matthew Kreamer and The Modesto Bee contributed to this report. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
