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3 people found dead after ‘suspicious’ house fire north of Charlotte, officials say

A third death has been linked to what North Carolina officials are calling a “suspicious” house fire in Troutman Tuesday night.

Iredell County Emergency Communications received a 911 call around 9 p.m. about a house fire on Loram Drive in Troutman, about 35 miles north of uptown Charlotte. The Troutman Fire Department and other fire departments responded and found the home “fully involved.”

Iredell sheriff’s deputies were called to assist around 9 p.m. when a man, who officials identified as an “adult son” from the Troutman home, arrived at his grandmother’s house in Mooresville. Detectives responded to both scenes and began their investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Detectives learned three other people were last known to be in the home when it caught fire. Hours before the fire, “the family had been involved in a domestic situation” that prompted the man to leave, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators recovered three bodies after an extended search that continued into Wednesday afternoon, according to an update posted Thursday.

The Sheriff’s Office has not released the identities of the three dead. A cause of the fire has not been determined.

“This is a two part investigation, the cause and origin of the fire together with a death investigation. Evidence has been collected associated with the case and additional evidence is expected to be found,” officials said.

“Both the fire and deaths are being treated as suspicious and the investigation is still on going. Autopsies will be conducted to determine the identity of the victims and cause of death. We expect to have additional information to release once the fire scene search is completed.”