The shocking murder scene discovered this weekend in Peabody, Massachusetts, was so gruesome and “messy” that investigators could not initially determine how many dead bodies there were in the basement of a home in the normally quiet suburb.

A spokesperson for the Essex district attorney’s office told The Boston Globe that investigators could not get a sense of how many victims there were because of the “condition of the scene.”

Once X-ray machines were brought in from the fire marshal’s office, detectives were able to confirm that two victims had been killed, since identified as Mark Greenlaw, 37, and Jennifer O’Connor, 39.

Police said they believe the victims knew their killers, and while they are still looking for the two suspects, there is no evident threat to the public.

On Saturday night, a woman ran from the home saying a crime had taken place. She flagged down a car to drive her to the police station to report the incident.

Police told The Boston Globe they had visited the home on numerous occasions in the past.

“We’ve been here a number of different times for all kinds of different incidents,” Police Chief Thomas Griffin said at a news conference. “It wouldn’t really be fair for us to characterize them as any one particular way.”