Scott Satchfield / Eyewitness News
Email: ssatchfield@wwltv.com | Twitter: @satchfield
LOCKPORT, La. -- Lafourche deputies have arrested 34-year-old David Brown of Houma, who is now considered a suspect in the murders of Jacqueline Nieves and her two young children, Gabriella and Isabella.
Emergency crews discovered the bodies while responding to a fire inside the family's apartment in Lockport, at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators believe the victims were stabbed. An autopsy was scheduled, although the Lafourche Parish Coroner's Office would not release any details Monday afternoon.
Deputies arrested Brown on charges stemming from a separate violent crime that allegedly took place the same night as the murders, at an adjacent apartment.
He's accused of breaking into a unit and attacking a resident.
While Brown has not been charged in connection with the murders, officials said they have gathered 'compelling evidence,' and said they expect those charges will come.
At a news conference Sunday, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said investigators were questioning Carlos Nieves, Jr., Jacqueline's husband and the father of the two children. However, authorities later said they had no evidence implicating him in the crimes.
For now, the investigation continues into the killings, which have left many in Lockport stunned.
'Certainly when you have multiple victims and then you have an attempt to cover up the crime with an arson, those things are extremely rare,' Webre said Sunday afternoon.
Brown is being held on a $110,000 bond. However, officials said he cannot be released because of a hold from the state probation and parole department.
