4 Found Dead in Tennis Star's Burning Mansion

James Blake had rented mansion to family
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 8, 2014 1:26 AM CDT
4 Found Dead After Arson at Tennis Star's Home
In this photo provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, flames destroy a mansion owned by former tennis star James Blake in a gated community in Tampa, Fla.    (AP Photo/Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

Four people were found dead in a Tampa Bay-area mansion owned by tennis star James Blake after an explosion and fire—and though the fire appears to have been intentionally set, authorities believe it wasn't what killed the two adults and two teenagers. A police spokeswoman says two of the bodies had visible upper-body trauma, and murder or murder-suicide is suspected, reports the Tampa Tribune. A couple and their two teenage children had been renting the house for the last two years but investigators haven't confirmed the identities of the four bodies.

Police say the fire appears to have been started by an unknown accelerant and fireworks may have caused the explosion heard by neighbors, the Los Angeles Times reports. "We have confirmed that there were also various fireworks—small, commercial-type fireworks—throughout the residence," the spokeswoman says. Blake, who retired from competitive tennis last year at the age of 33, was at his home in Connecticut when the fire happened, his management company says. (More James Blake stories.)

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