Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle of the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department says deputies approached a mobile home fire in Spooner on Sunday morning with caution, not knowing if 31-year-old murder suspect Arthur Garcia was inside.

"He had apparently set a number of tires on fire and then shot himself in the head, and falling on to the burning tires he basically incinerated himself,” says Zeigle.

Investigators say evidence at the mobile home confirmed Garcia as the suspect in the murder of David Palm, the brother of Garcia’s ex-girlfriend. Garcia had a child with Palm’s sister.

"We've received reports that Mr. Garcia had previously had a relationship with Mr. Palm's sister that relationship ended and apparently Mr. Garcia felt that the palm family may have contributed to that outcome," says Zeigle.

“In the debris of the fire we also uncovered two handguns, one of which we believe is the murder weapon."

Zeigle says deputies also found three pipe bombs in a backpack near Garcia’s body.

"We also found several rounds of ammunition,” says Zeigle.

Deputies say the fire and murder appear to have been planned out in detail by Garcia.

"We know Mr. Garcia had been casing the house," says Zeigle. "We know there were other family members home a short time prior to this and they left shortly before it happened. At that point, he approached the house and committed the murder."

Zeigle says in his career, he's never seen a crime quite like this, but he says the true reasons why Garcia killed palm can never be recovered.

"I’ve encountered a lot, but this is unique," says Zeigle. “We'll never really know. But we do think he intended to kill someone but the exact motive we may never know."

Zeigle says more than ten agencies helped in the search for Garcia. Deputies used cell phone records of calls to trace him to the mobile home in Spooner, which belonged to a friends' mother.

Update: Tuesday, 11:30 am
We now know the name of the man who investigators believe murdered another man before shooting and setting himself on fire.

The Sawyer County Sheriff's Department says Arthur Garcia, 31, had a relationship with the sister of David Palm. Deputies say Palm was murdered Saturday and his body was found in his parent's home in Birchwood. The home had also been set on fire.

Deputies say before Garcia killed himself, he told some acquaintances that he was responsible for Palm's death and the arson. Then on Sunday morning, investigators say Garcia shot himself and set himself on fire on a pile of burning tires at a mobile home near Spooner. Two handguns were found near his body. One of them is believed to be the weapon used in Palm's murder. The Marathon County Bomb Squad was also called in Sunday after investigators found three pipe bombs near Garcia's body.

We'll have more on this story Tuesday on WEAU 13 News at Five.

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Update:

A friend of Wayne and Grace Palm says the couple just returned from vacation this morning after hearing their 43-year-old son David had been murdered and their house burned down on Saturday.

"I just talked to them this morning. I don't think it's ever sunk in for them. They haven't from what I’ve heard even been able to get back in their house because it's still a crime scene," says Scott Mitchell.

The Sawyer County Sheriff has not yet positively identified the suspect, who they say killed himself Sunday morning in a mobile home fire near Spooner. The department says it is using dental records for identification.

Family friends say in the past, there were problems between the suspect and the palm family.

"The person who was killed was a very, very nice person. It's just a shame something like this had to happen,” says Mitchell.

Neighbors say the Palm family is generally well-known and well-liked in the community.

“There's no reason they would have brought this on themselves,” says Howard Forward.

The pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Birchwood says he met with the Palms this morning.
He says as the family takes stock of what's happened, the community is already coming together.

"Everybody's talking about it for sure,” says Jerry Triden. “Everyone's shocked. It's a sad, sad day."

Many people in town say Sawyer County doesn't often see this much crime: first a bank robbery, and then a murder-suicide the next day.

“It's the fall of the year, a tough economy. Things like this happen when you least expect it," says Triden.

Meanwhile people in the community says they plan to help the Palms during their time of loss.

“Our prayers and the towns prayers are with the Palms and I hope they'll be able to get over it. It's a real tragedy," says Mitchell.

To donate to the Palm Family Benefit Fund, you can drop contributions off to any Dairy State Bank location or mail it to Dairy State Bank, Palm Family Benefit Fund, PO Box 9, Birchwood, WI 54817.

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The Sawyer County Sheriff's Department says the victim in the apparent murder-suicide is 43-year-old David W. Palm from Birchwood.

Investigators say the suspect's identity has not been positively confirmed. Deputies say the suspect's body was taken to St. Paul, MN for forensic testing. Investigators say they plan to use dental records to help identify the suspect.

Trinity Lutheran Church tells WEAU 13 News there's a benefit set up:

Palm Family Benefit Fund
Can send any monetary donation to
Dairy State Bank in Birchwood
P.O. Box 9 54817
Birchwood, WI 54817

PREVIOUS STORY:

Deputies in Sawyer County are working on what they're calling an apparent murder-suicide. The Sawyer County Sheriff's Department says it responded to a house fire around 7:30PM Saturday night.

It says it found the body of a 43-year-old adult male inside the home on County Highway F in Edgewater, near Birchwood, and people in the area say they've never seen anything like this.

"A gentleman came in and said there was a house on fire on County Road F and that I needed to call 911," says Sunny Johnson who works at a local gas station.

Sunny Johnson says at that time she assumed the fire was an accident.

"It's very scary, actually a while ago I was thinking nothing ever happens in Birchwood and then this happened just down the road from my house, scary," says Corrinne Pendleton.

Corrinne Pendleton drove by the fire on her way home Saturday night and says the sky was lit up and the house looked destroyed.

"I hadn't heard anything of about the fire until I was driving home and I saw the sky it was really red," says Pendleton.

The department says the man's wounds and other evidence discovered at the scene, led investigators to believe the man was a victim of a homicide. After talking with family and friends deputies say they had a suspect, but around 10:00 Sunday morning officers found a badly burned body in a smoldering mobile home on County Highway A, in Washburn County, near Spooner.

Deputies say evidence recovered at that scene lead them to strongly believe the body was that of their suspect in the first fire and homicide. The suspects vehicle was also near the mobile home.

The sheriff's department isn't releasing the name of the victim or suspect at this time.

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Press Release from the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department:

At 7:30 PM on 31 October 2009, the Sawyer County Dispatch Center received a report of a possible structure fire on County Highway F in Edgewater Township in Sawyer County. Deputies from the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office and Officers from the Birchwood Police Department were dispatched to the scene along with the Birchwood Fire Department and Ambulance. Responding units discovered the body of an adult male in the structure. Evidence discovered at the scene led Sheriff’s Department Investigators to believe that foul play was involved in the incident.

Investigation continues by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department, Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations, and the State Fire Marshall’s Office.

Please stay with WEAU 13 News for the latest on this developing story.