Investigators: 5 slain in southern Tennessee

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. — A suspect is being held in the slayings of five people found dead Saturday in two homes in southern Tennessee, investigators said.

TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said in an e-mail that the bodies were found in Lincoln County and some of the victims were related.

The killings took place either Friday night or early Saturday and a forensic crime team was on the way to gather evidence, she said.

Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder told The Elk Valley Times of Fayetteville that his department is investigating three crime scenes involving five or more victims, though he did not elaborate. He did not release the victims’ names or that of the suspect and would not confirm the causes of death.

Fayetteville is a town of about 7,000 people located about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border.