Authorities are investigating a double homicide after the bodies of a man and woman were found in a Jefferson County home Friday morning.
The Jefferson County sheriff's office said 62-year-old Anthony Branch and 58-year-old Deborah Moncrief were found in Moncrief's home in the 6300 block of Cowboy Drive shortly after 6:30 a.m.
Sheriff's office Maj. Lafayette Woods said Moncrief's daughter discovered the two bodies when she went to check on her mother because she hadn't heard from her.
Moncrief and Branch were friends, Woods said, adding police will be talking with family members of both victims to try to "identify someone who wanted to hurt these two."
"There's a host of things we have to do to determine what direction the investigation is going to go," Woods said.
Investigators are not yet releasing how Moncrief and Branch were killed, and no information on the motive or suspects is known. Woods said there were not signs of forced entry or items missing from the scene.
The deaths were initially described as a "suspected double homicide," but Woods said that authorities have since confirmed it as such.
Cowboy Drive runs near Old Warren Road outside Pine Bluff's southwest side.