On the night of February 19, 2016, a fire was reported at a home on Buena Vista Road near Edgerton in rural Platte County, Missouri. Firefighters arriving just before midnight found the residence of 82-year-old Russell Denham and his 81-year-old wife Shirley fully engulfed. Outside the burning house were the bodies of Russell, Shirley, their 32-year-old granddaughter Heather Ager, and her three-month-old son Mason Schiavoni. All four had been shot to death and their bodies set on fire; pennies were placed on the victims’ eyes. The family dog, Jack, was also shot and burned.

Their grandson, Grayden Lane Denham, who lived at the residence, was missing when the bodies were found. Two days later he was located in Seligman, Arizona, and taken into custody driving the family car; clothes smelling of gasoline were recovered from the vehicle. Testimony during later legal proceedings described family tensions, arguments the day before, and that Grayden had been using methamphetamine; the defense raised mental illness and auditory hallucinations while the prosecution described premeditation.

Are there readers who remember the Denham family in Platte County or who have information about that night?