Four Dead in Blaze at Former Tennis Star's Fla. Mansion

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters found four bodies in a burning mansion owned by former tennis star James Blake, who was renting out the Tampa Bay-area house and not there at the time, officials said Wednesday.

Officials don't know the name, age or gender of the victims and they aren't releasing the names of people who were leasing the home. The county medical examiner will perform autopsies on the bodies to find out how they died.

Firefighters also saw fireworks inside the residence, but it's unclear what kind and where they were located.


Neighbors told detectives that Blake hasn't lived in the house for a while. He bought the home in the Avila subdivision in 2005 for $1.5 million, according to Hillsborough County property records. It had five bedrooms and five bathrooms. Video of the fire showed it totally engulfed in flames.

"It's in the back part of Avila, the million-dollar homes. It's a massive home," said Nacole Revette, a spokeswoman for Hillsborough Fire Rescue.




Follow Tamara Lush at