Authorities have reportedly made an arrest in the murders of a Paradise Valley couple found bound in their burning home earlier this week.
The Paradise Valley Police Department did not immediately return our call for confirmation, and authorities have refused to confirm the rumor to other publications, but KPHO is reporting that Paradise Valley Vice-Mayor Mary Hamway says an arrest has been made in the murders of Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro.
Hamway was told of the arrest at about 11 a.m. today. The local TV news station provided no other information.
The couple was found dead in their home near 40th Street and
Camelback Road on Monday morning. When police got to the Shapiro's house, it was
on fire.
This is where the story gets even more bizarre: the only
reason police went to the Shapiro's home is because they found a car
registered to the Shapiros on fire near 7th Street and Union Hills
Drive. After finding the car, Paradise Valley police went to the
couple's home -- and that's when they discovered the house was on fire,
and there were two bodies inside.
"We are working with the investigators to help facilitate a thorough investigation to apprehend and bring to justice those who were responsible," family members posted on a website yesterday.
Lawrence Shapiro, 79, a former gastroenterologist, co-founded the Phoenix-based Health Services Advisory Group.
The couple supports several local charities and civic organizations including the National Kidney Foundation of Arizona and the Phoenix Symphony.
The deaths of the Shapiro's are the first murders in Paradise Valley since 2004.
Check back for updates.
