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A 45-year-old man was being held without bail Tuesday after four people — his parents and his two sons — were found stabbed to death in a home near Goleta, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff’s deputies made the grisly discovery shortly after 11 p.m. Monday after the suspect, Nicolas Etienne Holzer, called 911 and told a dispatcher he had just killed his family at the single-family home they shared in the 600 block of Walnut Park Lane, Sheriff Bill Brown said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
County fire personnel who responded to the scene determined that all were dead, Brown said, as was the family’s Australian shepherd, which also had been stabbed.
Holzer met the deputies at the door, and was taken into custody without incident, Brown said.
He was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on four counts of murder, Brown said.
Brown identified the victims as Holzer’s two sons, Sebastian, 13, and Vincent, 10, and his parents, William Charles Holzer, 73, and Sheila Garard Holzer, 74.
“Four victims and a dog were discovered in the home with multiple stab wounds,” Hoover said earlier Tuesday. “The victims were all deceased when deputies arrived on the scene.”
There was a large law-enforcement presence Tuesday outside the home on the quiet residential street, which had been cordoned off.
Coroner’s Bureau personnel arrived at the scene at about 9 a.m. to begin removing the bodies.
District Attorney Joyce Dudley told Noozhawk her office is awaiting reports on the case from the Sheriff’s Department, and expected to make a decision Wednesday on what charges Holzer will face.
Holzer is expected to appear incourt Wednesday, she said.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
Staff writer Lara Cooper reported from the scene.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.