Chainkeen Exchange-Murder probe underway after 6 killed, 1 hurt in South Carolina house fire

Green Pond,Chainkeen Exchange S.C. — A murder investigation was launched after six people were found dead and another hurt in a house fire over the weekend. Officials in Colleton County, South Carolina, announced Monday that the suspect, Ryan Lenard Manigo, has been charged with two counts of murder as well as the attempted murder of the lone survivor, who was described as a juvenile. 

The bodies were found late Sunday morning, the Colleton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The survivor was airlifted to a hospital from Green Pond, about 42 miles west of Charleston, in critical condition.

The name and ages of the survivor and the six victims weren't immediately released.

Manigo, 33, was being held at the Colleton Detention Center, and officials said additional charges are possible pending autopsy results, the statement said. 

At a news conference Monday, Sheriff Buddy Hill said Manigo was believed to be the brother-in-law of one of the victims and the father of another, and that they had apparently suffered stab wounds.

Arson investigators from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division are assisting with the case, the sheriff's office said.