State Police Identify Two Of Three People Found Dead After Garage Fire In Berks County, Call Home 'Crime Scene'
DOUGLASSVILLE, Pa. (CBS) --A homicide investigation is underway after Pennsylvania State Police say three people were found dead inside a home following a garage fire in Douglassville. Authorities identified two of the deceased as 63-year-old Joanne Deluca and 60-year-old Ira Reed Jr. on Sunday.
State Trooper David Beohm said Sunday that the third person will not be identified until the autopsy is complete.
For those who knew the victims, the first hint of trouble was hearing that there had been a fire inside a shed.
Daniel Davies said next, he learned "they were all dead." He was particularly close with Reed.
"He told me he never had kids and looked at me like a son," Davies said Sunday. "He loved me, did anything for me, invited me to Thanksgiving coming up because he knew I didn't already have much."
Firefighters on Saturday afternoon raced to put out what state police say was actually a garage fire on Chestnut Street.
Investigators believe that Deluca, Reed and the unidentified person were dead before the fire started.
Davies remembers Reed as a generous man who helped save his own life.
"He pulled me away from drugs. I was so close to being sucked into a drug addict," Davies said. "He brought me up here and taught me stuff. Like we still had a car to finish. In there, we had a '64 Impala."
Neighbors say the family was from South Jersey and moved to Berks County after losing their home to Superstorm Sandy.
Beohm said the home is being treated as an "active crime scene."
An investigation remains ongoing.
