Tragic Jewish family died in blazing wreck after 'murder-suicide'

(L-R) Daniel, Yahit, Melissa, Matthew, and James Butwin

Investigation: This image provided by the Pinal County Sheriffs Office, shows the vehicle where five burned, dead bodies were found, in Pinal County's Vekol Valley area, west of Casa Grande, Arizona

PHOENIX – Officials fear that the missing family of five who was experiencing emotional and financial hardships were the victims whose bodies were found in a burnt car ditched in the Arizona desert.

Though police cannot be certain about the identity of the victims because of the state in which the bodies were found, mounting evidence points to the conclusion that the Butwin family were the tragic victims.

An SUV found burning in the desert with five bodies inside was registered to the home of a missing family of five, three of whom were children, police in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe said Tuesday.

An acquaintance of the Butwin family told police on Monday that he was concerned about them after receiving a note from James Butwin with instructions on how to operate his construction business without him, leading the friend to fear that something may have happened to Mr Butwin.

Investigators went to the Butwin home and found 'suspicious and concerning' evidence, but not the Butwins, and began treating the case as a murder-suicide.

The family's white Ford Expedition also was gone.

Tempe police sergeant Jeff Glover declined to specify what the evidence was but said no murder weapon was found in the home.

Meanwhile, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office was investigating the discovery of five bodies found burned beyond recognition in a white Ford Expedition in the desert 35 miles south of Phoenix on Saturday morning.

Mr Glover said that the sheriff's office has since notified them that the SUV in the desert was registered to the Butwin family's home.

He said that although they can't be entirely certain that the Butwins are the same five people found in the burning SUV, investigators are so sure that they're dead that they aren't looking for them and believe there are no outstanding suspects.

Mr Glover said that James and his wife Yafit Butwin were experiencing financial difficulties, and court records show that Yafit filed for divorce in September and that the process was ongoing.

The eldest child was a daughter, 16-year-old Melissa, who was followed by 14-year-old Daniel and 7-year-old Matthew.

The five bodies found in the desert have not been positively identified because they were burned so badly beyond recognition, said Gregory Hess, chief medical examiner for Pima County.

He said the bodies could have included older children but not younger ones.

He said the office will have to use dental records to try to confirm the identities of the bodies.

Robert Kempton, a neighbor of the Butwins, told The Associated Press that the couple had confided in him about going through a divorce and that James Butwin was battling a brain tumor.

Mr Kempton said that after chemotherapy, the tumor returned and that James was discouraged that treatment wasn't helping him.

Another neighbor, Mike Bock, said that James Butwin also told him that he was battling a brain tumor. He described Mr Butwin as a great guy and extremely bright.

'He honks and waves at me every time he drives by,' he said.

Mr Kempton said he and his wife were planning a summer trip with the Butwins to Israel, where Yafit is from.

'I would have thought that they would have worked through this,' Mr Kempton said, referring to the divorce. 'This is a big shock.'

Mr Kempton said he has lived in the well-manicured, upper-middle-class neighborhood for 12 years, and the Butwins moved in a few years afterward.

'From what we know them to be, this is totally unexpected to the point of almost being unbelievable,' Mr Kempton said.

'We'll choose to remember them in the wonderful, positive light that we knew them.'

Yafit Butwin's Facebook page shows her last post came on Friday - a picture of James, with the three smiling kids and a caption that reads: 'Happy birthday, Jim. I am so proud of my three children:) and they know why.'

An attorney for Yafit Butwin, Steven Wolfson, told The Arizona Republic that the Butwins were still living together during the divorce under a temporary agreement to share the home.

Mr Wolfson said that Yafit Butwin immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1990s from Israel and married Mr Butwin in New Jersey.

'She was looking forward to starting over, and she loved her children very much,' he said.

Mr Wolfson said that Yafit Butwin never sought an order of protection and said there was no hint of domestic violence problems.

'This is out of the blue as far as we're concerned,' he said.