Terror in America

Family killed in Texas; 4 youths held

By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago

ALBA, Texas - A mother and two children were killed in a predawn attack at their remote East Texas ranch, which burned to the ground, and four young people who knew the family will be charged with murder, authorities said.

The father was in critical condition with a gunshot wound, Rains County Sheriff David Traylor said at a news conference.

Three high school students and a juvenile were arrested and booked into the Rains County jail. The two males and two females will be charged with three counts each of capital murder, Traylor said.

The family had a teenage daughter, but Traylor did not provide information on her whereabouts. The dead were a 39-year-old woman and two boys, ages 8 and 13, Traylor said.

"It's the scariest thing," Traylor said. "You don't know what to make. I guess you imagine the worst and hope for the best."

Authorities were tightlipped on details, but Traylor said autopsies have been ordered.

The house sat on at least 20 acres of pine-canopied, remote land on a narrow gravel road with just two other homes, Traylor said. Alba is about 60 miles northeast of Dallas.

Harold Read, who lives about a mile away, said he was awakened by what he thought was thunder around 4 a.m., the time when authorities were first called to the house.

"All you read about out here are ticky-tacky crimes in the local paper," said Read, 67. "I never lock my doors. This is a quiet place."

By late Saturday, firefighters sifted through the ash and singed metal that was all that remained from the house.

March 1, 2008