Five killed in suspected homicide, arson

DENVER -- Police don't have any suspects in the slayings of five people whose bodies, including that of one of the bar owners, were found in a neighborhood bar after a fire broke out early yesterday. Investigators believe they were killed before the fire and the blaze was set to cover up the slayings.

The fire at Fero's Bar & Grill was spotted just before 2 a.m., closing time for bars, by a police officer on patrol. Four women and a man were dead inside.

The Denver medical examiner said the victims included Young Fero, 63, of the suburb of Aurora, identified in state records as one of the bar's owners. The other victims were Daria M. Pohl, 22, Kellene Fallon, 45, Ross Richter, 29, and Tereasa Beesley, 45.

Police chief Robert White said there was nothing to indicate a murder-suicide, meaning whoever is responsible is still at large. The bar was extensively damaged, but there wasn't much visible from the outside, he said.

Frequent patron Chris Brady said Young Fero, known for cooking up beef bowls at a moment's notice, usually would close the bar herself, and she bid him good night Tuesday as he paid his tab. "She always worked late and closed the bar," he said.

-- AP