A joint investigation involving five law enforcement agencies is ongoing in the arson and homicide case in Hardy County, West Virginia.

Suspects Nakia Keller and Lorie Taylor are being held in the Rockingham County Jail until they are extradited to West Virginia. They were arrested Tuesday morning in connection with the deaths of three people.

The crime has left both friends and investigators stunned.

Still mourning the loss of the Taylors, friends and family said goodbye to the house, taking pictures and putting in a gate.

Lead investigator Brent Fertig says this crime is hitting the West Virginia town hard.

"One of the biggest, probably in this area for a long time," says Fertig, a Hardy County Sheriff's deputy.

Fertig says the fire didn't appear to be a homicide and arson at first glance, but after investigating, officials found evidence showing the three people didn't die in an accidental fire.

"We had conducted some search warrants based on the investigation and have found evidence of a crime linking to those two subjects," says Fertig.

Fertig says they found all three victims dead in the stairwell leading to the basement.

"We found that each of the victims have sustained one or more gunshot wounds to the back of the head. And we believe that the arson was set to cover that up," says Fertig.

Neighbors said Chip had custody of his and Lorie's three children, and she had been trying to get them for more than an every-other-weekend visit.

"We're finding right now we have reason to believe that there was a heated custody battle that's been going on for a while. Our understanding is we believe that is the motive," says Fertig.

This past weekend was Lorie's weekend with the kids. That's when the the shooting and fire occurred.

"We had followed up on some leads and we were able to find that the children were with Lorie while the fire was being extinguished by Mathias-Baker Fire Department," says Fertig.

Many people in Hardy County said they had heard about a custody battle, but didn't want to talk about it.