Riverside Man Questioned About Slaying of Family Members : Crime: Police do not call him a suspect in the deaths of his parents and two brothers in St. Louis. One report says he may have been in the area when they were killed.

Sheriff’s deputies questioned a Riverside man Saturday after the slaying in St. Louis of all four members of the man’s family.

Emory M. Futo Jr., 26, has not been labeled a suspect in the deaths. One newspaper account suggested he may have been visiting St. Louis at the time of the slayings. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department refused to say whether Futo was taken into custody after he was questioned.

In St. Louis, police said they hoped the Riverside man could shed light on the slaying of his parents and two brothers. The bodies were found at three sites in the St. Louis area on Friday.

St. Louis County Police, one of two law enforcement agencies in that area working on the case, said they asked Riverside authorities to find and question Futo. Late Saturday afternoon, the St. Louis police were notified by Riverside that contact had been made.

“He’s the only surviving member of the family,” said Detective William Ostendorf, of the St. Louis department’s crimes against persons division, in a telephone interview. “We crucially need to talk to him to get background on what happened and transpired. . . . He is a crucial witness.”

The Times contacted Futo by telephone at his Riverside home, moments after sheriff’s deputies arrived.

“I’m in shock,” Futo sobbed. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Before additional questions could be asked, a deputy took the phone and referred a reporter to department headquarters, where authorities refused to release information about the case.

The bodies of Futo’s parents--Emory Futo Sr., 53, and Euna Futo, 50--were found Friday in their home in a quiet neighborhood in southwest St. Louis, according to news reports. Police found Mrs. Futo on the main floor of the home; her husband’s body was found in the basement.

A short time later, the body of their 22-year-old son, Joseph, was found in the back seat of a car parked a block away. After that, workers emptying a trash dumpster near the New St. Marcus Cemetery found the body of son Nick, 24.

Nick and Joseph Futo lived with their parents, according to news accounts published in St. Louis.

St. Louis City Police Capt. Robert Bauman, head of the homicide division, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that it appeared the Futos were killed Thursday night or early Friday. The parents apparently had been stabbed and possibly shot; the two sons were shot.

Friends of the family were quoted in the St. Louis press as saying the younger Emory Futo had been expected to arrive home for a visit Thursday night. Police, however, have not said whether they can establish Futo’s presence in St. Louis.

The case in Missouri is being handled by St. Louis county and city police--two distinct agencies--because the bodies were found within city limits and in an unincorporated part of the county.