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John Hollenhorst ReportingA spectacular fireball that killed two people in a car over the weekend is most likely no accident. The theory from police as they investigate the fireball and blast that shook the downtown hotel district is suicide.
Investigators are being tight-lipped with information. But a double-suicide, or murder-suicide, emerged as the prevailing theory.
Police and fire officials kept the facts under unusually tight wraps Sunday considering how public this tragedy was and how many people it upset or inconvenienced. In the absence of a police explanation, we spoke to people in nearby hotels and motels. We heard one scenario that's distressing--if true. A hotel worker says he saw the whole thing on video.
The identity of the two victims who burned up inside the SUV has still not been announced. A police commander told us investigators know who one victim is and are fairly sure of the other.
A police dispatcher Sunday morning told us she was instructed to tell reporters "It was a simple suicide." Later, a police commander backed off slightly and said "It's being treated as a suicide while the investigation continues."
Police haven't said whether they've obtained any useful surveillance video. The fiery death scene behind the Maverik store was in plain view of several hotels and motels.
Two restaurant workers at the Red Lion Hotel told us a disturbing scenario which we cannot confirm. But one of them claimed he actually watched a videotape that showed exactly what happened.
According to their account, a young couple pulled into the Maverick station and filled a gas can. The man then supposedly poured gasoline over the woman's head as she sat in the Ford Explorer. Then he poured gas on himself and climbed in just before the fireball erupted. But was such an incident really video-taped?
Other Red Lion employees told us the hotel doesn't even have security cameras outside the building.
So, is the account from the restaurant workers true? Police aren't talking. The known facts are still waiting for an explanation.
