A Bashaw motel that burned to the ground over the weekend, killing one person, had been the target of racist vandals.

Details of the investigation into a fire that destroyed the Bashaw Motor Inn,leaving one person dead and three others injured, are starting to slowly trickle out.

Police said Wednesday that the building, on the corner of highways 21 and 53, was vandalized before the fire adding "the graffiti in question contained a racial slur."

However, police are hesitant to link the graffiti to the fire.

"At this time, police have no information to indicate the mischief to property and motel fire are related in any way," read a release from the RCMP Wednesday.

Fire crews were called to the Bashaw Motor Inn early in the morning on Oct. 9 to find the building engulfed in flames.

Three people were taken to hospital with burns and, when the fire was brought under control, one body was found in the debris. The deceased has not been identified.

An autopsy, initially set for Tuesday, was re-scheduled and expected to be completed Wednesday.

Police forensic investigators have been treating the area as a crime scene but have yet to release information that would support the fire being intentionally set.

A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $9,000 for the family of four — parents and two grown sons — who owned and lived in the motel. Locals have described the parents as respectful peoplewho kept to themselves and have said the sons volunteered with sports camps for local youth.

Police are asking anyone with information about the graffiti that was on the motel walls or the fire to contact them at 780-372-3793 or through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

dlazzarino@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/SUNDaveLazz