YUMA — The slaying of a Yuma physician in early November appears to be related to the 2005 killings of a family of six, and police have named the same potential suspect in both cases.
Preston Strong, 41, a former car dealership employee who police call a career con man, was named Wednesday as a "person of interest" in the Nov. 1 slaying of Dr. Satinder Gill and the June 2005 killing of the Yuma family.
"He's not charged in the crimes; he's simply a suspect," Yuma police spokesman Clint Norred said. "There's some obvious connection between the two killings."
A call to Strong's Yuma attorney, Michael Donovan, was not immediately returned.
Strong is in jail, having been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison on a theft conviction the day after Gill was killed.
Gill was found dead in his home by police who were checking on his welfare, according to a detailed Yuma police press statement. The officers found the home filled with natural gas, with candles burning throughout the home. They put out the candles and called the Fire Department, then found Gill dead. He had been asphyxiated.
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Police said Gill and Strong were acquaintances, and witnesses told detectives that Strong was jealous of Gill over his interest in a woman they both knew.
A large amount of money was missing from Gill's home, he was apparently forced to make several unusual phone calls, and a witness told police Strong had a large amount of cash after the death.
Similar circumstances link Strong to the slayings of liquor-store owner Luis Rios, 35; his girlfriend, Adrienne Heredia; 29, and her children Danny Heredia III, 6; Inez Newman, 9; Andreas Crawford, 13; and Enrique Bedoya, 12, police said. An autopsy showed that Rios and Danny Heredia died of gunshots to the head. The other four died of asphyxiation.
Strong also knew Rios, police said, there were "significant money issues" between them at the time of the slayings, and Rios also made unusual calls before his death.
Police said they're uncertain of Strong's exact whereabouts during both slayings and are hoping the public helps by providing information regarding Strong in either case.
Norred called the killing of the family one of the most tragic homicide cases in Yuma history.
"We had six victims at one location, four of them being children, so you can obviously understand the impact that it would have on a community our size or just about any community in the United States," he said. "That's a lot of loss to absorb."
He said some of the officers who responded to the scene of the slayings have been working the case full time for the last two years.
"You're talking thousands and thousands of man-hours basically living and breathing this case," he said. "It's been a long road, and we're still not done."
Detectives are awaiting lab results on evidence seized from Strong's home.
Two additional cases, in whichStrong is charged with fraudulent schemes, forgery and influence of a witness, are pending in Yuma County Superior Court.
