A Virginia man suspected in the deaths of his wife and her three children found in their burned apartment was arrested Saturday in South Carolina.
Newport News police said in a press release that John Moses Ragin, 36, was taken into custody Saturday after he called detectives to say he was in Manning, S.C. Police said they were bringing Ragin back to Virginia after obtaining warrants for four counts of murder. Additional charges were pending.
Police were called to the family's apartment because of a fire Friday when they found four bodies. Police have identified them as 32-year-old Crystal Ragin and her children, 15-year-old Sierra, 10-year-old Rasheed and 6-year-old Lakwan. Officials say each suffered apparent knife wounds and exposure to the fire, but a medical examiner was to determine how each died. Police did not say when the victims were killed.
During the joint fire and death investigation, police learned the couple's 5-year-old son and John Ragin were missing from the apartment. The 5-year-old was found unharmed Friday evening with family members in South Carolina.
Neighbor Lauren Nelbach told the Daily Press that Crystal Ragin was in the military and her husband was "trying to be a rapper."
"It's very sad," another neighbor, Farrah Dye, told . "Anytime children or anyone dies, it's sad, especially children that young."
"It's scary, because we still don't know what happened," Dye added. "She [the dead woman] seemed really nice. She was just a really nice lady. She always spoke to me and they haven't even been over here that long."
