Pictured: Afshar's 5-year-old granddaughter Zipporah, left, and 8-year-old grandson, Darius, right
A Pennsylvania grandfather is accused of killing himself, his son and two young children by setting their home ablaze in what investigators believe was a horrific murder-suicide.
PennLive reports that 67-year-old Jafar Afshar torched the family's Steelton apartment on fire Friday morning, killing himself and his son Saeed, 36, as well as his 5-year-old granddaughter Zipporah, and 8-year-old grandson, Darius, Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick said Tuesday.
Afshar and his alleged victims all died from burns and smoke inhalation, subsequent autopsies revealed.
Hetrick did not reveal the motive behind Friday's fatal case of arson at the family home in the 400 block of South Front Street. But he did state that the grandfather had been acting strangely in days prior.
'There had been indications of abnormal behavior' by Afshar, Hetrick said during a press conference on Friday.
'What was in his mind when he decided to eliminate his family, I don’t know,' Hetrick said.
The two grandchildren along with their father were victims of a murder-suicide at the hands of their grandfather, authorities say
The bodies of Afshar's son and grandchildren were found in the same room, and appeared to have been sleeping at the time the fire was lit
Hetrick did not elaborate on specifics relating to Afshar's recent unusual behavior.
Authorities were able to able to determine from the position of the bodies that Afshar used an accelerant to start the fatal blaze, which he doused throughout the family's second-story apartment, which sits above the Raja's Quick Pick Mart.
The bodies of Afshar's son and grandchildren were found in the same room, and appeared to have been sleeping at the time the fire was lit.
Hetrick, who ruled the deaths a murder-suicide, added that Afshar's body was discovered in the same bedroom as the others, however in a different location within the room.
All four died from burns and smoke inhalation, according to the coroner.
Hetrick stated that he believed Saeed and the two children likely died quickly from smoke inhalation before they were even aware the apartment was ablaze.
'I think this (the deaths) happened quickly. I think there was a large amount of smoke,' Hetrick said.
Authorities were able to able to determine from the position of the bodies that Afshar used an accelerant to start the fatal blaze
Pictured: the family's second-story apartment, which sits above the Raja's Quick Pick Mart in Steelton, Pennsylvania
Authorities say that all of the windows at the apartment were closed by the time of their arrival, which would have likely slowed the fire down due to lack of oxygen.
It didn't appear as though any of the victims attempted to escape the burning home, Hetrick added while calling the crime 'horrific.'
'We don’t know what they could have been,' he said, before adding, 'It’s sad.'
'It’s horrible,' he said. “I helped carry out one of the dead children.'
A GoFundMe for the children's mother has raised nearly $4,000 out of a goal of $10,000 as of Tuesday.
