Man charged with homicide of his grandparents, sister, nephew and dog after shooting them in the head and setting them on fire (photos)

A 24 year old Missouri man has been charged with 4 counts of homicide after killing his grand dad and mum, sister and 3 month old baby nephew by shooting them on the head and setting them on fire .

Grayden Denham of Edgerton in Platte County is accused of murdering his grandparents Russell Denham, 82, and Shirley Denham, 81, his sister Heather Ager, 32, her son, Mason Schiavoni, 3 months and a dog in a terrifying homicide case in February.

All the bodies were burning when firefighters arrived and had to put out the flames on each body, Platte County Sheriff Mark Owen said at a press conference on Monday.

"Upon further examination of the scene, the following details were revealed: Every victim had sustained one or more gunshot wounds. The canine had sustained gunshot wounds and every victim had been set on fire," Owen said.

Grayden's mother, Shelly Dunham, has said that her son did not kill his family members.

"I was blindsided by this," she told the Kansas City Star. "He's innocent until proven guilty."

Grayden Denham is also being charged with arson for setting fire to the home, as well as animal abuse and tampering with physical evidence.

After the deaths of the Denham family, Grayden Denham was initially not a suspect. He was charged with theft for taking his grandparents' car and fleeing to Arizona where police found him and arrested him while he was completely naked.

"A quadruple homicide is a very serious crime, and if we had the opportunity to allow 12 independent grand jurors to review that case, assist us in the investigation and ultimately determine what charges if any can be brought, in a very serious case we want to take that opportunity," Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said. We had that opportunity in this case and that's what we decided in this case," he added.

Denham's attorney John P. O'Connor says he plans to plead not guilty to the charges

His sister with her son

His grandparents

Source: NewYorkDailyNews