This isn't the first murder, that the Grasselli Heights community has seen. And now, they'll have to deal with this tragedy.  Some of the folks in the neighborhood say they're scared, and they're worried about what happened and could it happen again.  Others say this is just the most recent tragedy to hit the area.

By late this afternoon a family member or friend had placed a small white cross at the crime tape around the scene of the early morning murder and arson.  Birmingham Police have identified the victims as Derrick Witherspoon, his wife Elizabeth and her two children 13 year old Jerome McFarland and 11 year old Justin McFarland.  Neighbors say the Witherspoons moved in shortly after they were married in April. "Four months, and the whole family is dead,"  says one woman.

Carolyn Brown says the killings have had a chilling effect on the neighborhood.  But this isn't the only crime the neighborhood has been experiencing recently. "Drive by shootings, drug dealers killing each other, drug pushers and drug addicts moving in. It has to stop," she says.

Chevis Finley lives behind the crime scene.  He describes the two boys as very playful.  "They came around to play and go see the neighbors home to play. They'd come by and play with my dog. Sometimes, they even come by and talk to me," Finley says.

The brutality of the killings have even had an effect on the Birmingham Police officers handling the case. "When kids are involved, they're innocent, you really don't expect that, but we do know that there are evil people out there who'll do things like this," says Lt. Henry Irby.