Photo by Bill Green Randy and Donette Hull embrace after placing flowers at a memorial at the driveway of the home where a family of four was found dead Friday night. The Hulls were neighbors of the Daltons.

Charles L. Dalton Sr.'s navy blue work van was parked in the driveway. A few painted stones, some that contained religious messages written by the Dalton family, lined a well-kept walkway to the front porch where a light was still on.

Children's bicycles, a helmet and a red wagon had been laid haphazardly on the porch. A pair of black football cleats rested near the front door.

Shouts from a little league baseball team game under way down the hill behind the house rang out.

From time to time, cars slowed as they approached the turn in the road near the home in the 300 block of Contour Road before continuing on. Neighbors and friends walked to the edge of the property near a wooden fence to pay their respects, some in tears, others quiet and contemplative.

Mourners left notes, stones, flowers, balloons and a teddy bear next to a "for sale" sign in front of the house.

Neighborhood residents struggled to figure out what led Dalton, by many accounts an easygoing, hardworking, devout Christian, to kill his family and himself sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning, when police think the deaths occurred.

No suicide note had been left behind, and Maryland State Police have yet to determine a motive for the killings.

"You grapple with why," said Doug Johnson, a neighbor who lives several houses south of the Daltons.

Johnson is an electrician who worked on various jobs over the past year and a half for Dalton, a cabinetmaker who ran his own business, Imagine Millwork.

He said Dalton was also a friend and seemed like a tolerant, even-tempered guy. On occasion, they spoke about their religious faith and the saving properties of Jesus Christ.

Dalton was clean and sober, Johnson said.

He described Dalton as an evangelical Christian who volunteered at his church and was helping it build a summer Bible camp.

Charles Dalton Sr.'s wife, Jennifer, also seemed personable, Johnson said. He was not aware of any trouble in their marriage.

Johnson said Dalton always paid him on time and did not seem to be in financial trouble.

Dalton had mentioned he had to lower the asking price on his home, and that he might lose money on a short sale, Johnson said. About a week ago, Johnson said Dalton told him that he'd found a place to rent somewhere on Md. 144 and that he'd found another job and was considering giving up his own business.

According to records from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, the Daltons bought the Contour Road home in March 2005 for $304,000.

As of 2007, the property had a base assessment value of $371,140.

A real estate agent listed on the "for sale" sign could not be reached to confirm the asking price for the house or whether it had been sold.

As of Saturday afternoon, police had yet to determine whether the house had been sold.

Police identified the four people found dead inside the house Saturday.

They were Charles L. Dalton Sr., 38, the husband and father, his wife, Jennifer A. Dalton, 37, their son, Charles L. Dalton Jr., 14, and their daughter, Emmaline E. Dalton, 7, according to state police.

Each died from a single gunshot wound to the head, police said.

Investigators think Charles Dalton killed his family as they slept before shooting himself. Police found a .12-gauge pump shotgun next to his body.

Troopers found their bodies about 5:30 p.m. Friday, according to state police spokeswoman Greg Shipley.

Investigators said Jennifer Dalton's body was found in bed in the master bedroom. Police found her husband next to the bed.

Troopers found Charles Dalton Jr. in his bed. Emmaline Dalton was found in her bed in a separate bedroom, police said.

The family dog, a beagle, was found shot dead in a crate inside the front door of the house, police said.

Police said Jennifer Dalton failed to show up at work at her part-time job at a veterinary hospital in Damascus. Co-workers called her home and cell phone beginning at 8:30 a.m. Friday but got no answer.

One of Jennifer Dalton's co-workers stopped by the house at 2:15 p.m. Friday, but no one answered the door, police said.

Police said Charles Dalton Sr. worked as a self-employed carpenter and cabinetmaker. He also worked night shift as a maintenance worker for Montgomery County schools.

Charles Dalton Jr. was in the ninth grade. He was a junior firefighter with the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Co., the company that responded to his house Friday. Emmaline Dalton was an elementary school student.

Chris Bond, another neighbor, said Emmaline Dalton and his daughter were friends and played at each other's houses on occasion.

Bond said he spoke with Dalton about a week ago while Dalton was mowing his yard.

Dalton told him he'd had an offer on the house and wanted to move into a new place with a bigger space for his workshop.

Bond said the Daltons had moved to Mount Airy from Damascus, and seemed to be a religious family.

Bond's daughter attended an all-day Bible camp with Emmaline Dalton, he said.

The Daltons seemed happy, Bond said.

Sarah Turton stopped at the house to pay her respects with her mother. Turton said she was a classmate of Emmaline's in first and second grade at Twin Ridge Elementary School.

"She was one of the best people I know," Turton said.

When Turton's sister was in the hospital recently, Emmaline Dalton prayed for her.

Doug Alexander, public information officer for the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Co., said Charles Dalton Jr. had been a junior volunteer there for almost two years.

Alexander described the teenager, known as Charlie, as enthusiastic and hardworking in his attempts to learn the basics of firefighting.

Charlie had been part of a group of about six to eight junior volunteers for the fire company, Alexander said.

Members of that group met Friday night, and many expressed shock and disbelief at Charlie's death.

Alexander said that no one at the fire company knew the family well, or had much contact them in the two years Charlie had volunteered.

"This whole thing has been unfortunate, there's just no question about that," he said.

Late Friday night, at about 11:30, half a dozen of Charlie's freshman Linganore football teammates showed up outside the house after learning of the tragedy during the varsity football game.

Shawn Rosenblum, a freshman wide receiver at Linganore and teammate of Charlie's, said Charlie, a backup tight end, had played in Wednesday's freshman win over Winter's Mill.

"He was a real nice kid, outgoing and easy to get along with," said Rosenblum, adding that many of Charlie's friends broke into tears at the Linganore varsity game after news of the tragedy was confirmed by an assistant coach.

Frederick County Public Schools has established crisis teams that will be at both Linganore High and Twin Ridge Elementary schools on Tuesday -- schools are closed Monday, spokeswoman Marita Loose wrote in an e-mail.

The crisis teams will provide support to students and staff.

Letters to the schools' communities are also planned, Loose wrote.

"This is, sadly, the fourth such tragedy we've experienced as a school system in about two and a half years, starting with the Rodriguez family at Hillcrest Elementary.

"Still, it doesn't get easier or more comprehensible, particularly for the teachers and classmates of the students and friends they've lost," she wrote.

Staff writer Ron Cassie contributed to this report.