Roy Ralston was found in a hallway of the home, the two boys in a bedroom and Sinclair and Luark in another bedroom, Kilby said.



"The guy broke into the house," said Brad Teeter, Sinclair's son-in-law. "I couldn't tell you about the guy, never met him, never seen him, never talked to him. He apparently broke into the home of my wife's mother and shot everybody inside."



"I'm at a loss right now," Teeter said.



State police would not comment on a possible motive. But a neighbor said Smith had been going through a custody battle with Sinclair's daughter over their 4-year-old child. Neither she nor the girl were in the home at the time of the shooting, according to authorities and the family.



"He was under a lot of stress. ... There was a lot of problems with custody with the daughter," said a neighobor of Smith's near his home in Roodhouse.



The neighbor said Smith had lived with the woman at his home until recently. The neighbor said the two had been together for about five years.



The neighbor said Smith worked as a jack of all trades. "He did odd jobs for people, he could fix anything. He was a really hard worker," the neighbor said.



The neighbor said Smith had custody of their daughter fairly often but "I know there was a lot of friction with (her) family."



An all points bulletin was issued for Smith and he was arrested around 7:30 a.m. after a brief chase. Police said that when Smith exited his car he began shooting at police who returned fire and struck Smith. He was taken in critical condition to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:10 a.m., police said.



A Winchester woman said she turned on the police scanner at her home around 7 a.m. after learning her children's school was closed because of an emergency. She heard a police chase on the scanner and realized the shooting suspect was approaching her home.



She went outside and saw a white car cruise by, chased by about three or four police cars. After the car went by, it spun out and crashed about a half-mile away. Then she heard a volley of gunshots.



"It's a tragic thing, you don't ever think it will happen close to home," the woman said.