Five in Family Slain; Man Held

MESA, Ariz. —  A man was arrested Tuesday in the shooting deaths of his wife and four members of her family, including her 3-year-old son, the sheriff said. The suspect had blamed the killings on his slain brother-in-law.

Police questioned Kemp Crowley after the five were found dead in his Mesa home. Comments he made when deputies arrived did not “jibe with what we found in the house,” Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

Crowley, 43, who had a cut on his head, told arriving sheriff’s deputies that he was assaulted and that his brother-in-law, whose body was found inside, was responsible for the killings.

Arpaio said all the victims, who were found in or near the living room, had been shot several times. He said they were close together and “didn’t have a chance to fight back.” Arpaio said investigators didn’t know why the five were killed. The victims were identified as Crowley’s wife, Tammi Meininger, whom he recently remarried; her son, Austin Potter; her brother, Mark Potter; her sister, Terri Borden; and her mother, Joyce Levi.