A child pyromaniac is suspected of murdering his mother and siblings, setting fire to his home, and then slitting his own throat with a razor. The horrific scene was discovered by police and firefighters, and the story has left his Staten Island neighbors and other family members numb with disbelief.

Police investigators are still trying to put together the puzzling pieces of the possible murder-suicide that occurred Thursday in the community of Port Richmond, Staten Island. Fourteen-year-old C.J. Jones (pictured above) was the oldest of four children. He lived in a modest apartment in a two-story home with his 33-year-old mother, Leisha, and siblings Brittany, 10, Melody, 7, and Jermaine, 2.

After investigators examined the badly charred bodies of three of the victims, they found that the two young girls had their throats slashed, and Leisha was discovered lying face down on the living room floor as if she had been trying to make it to the front door. She apparently died of smoke inhalation. Jermaine was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead due to the smoke.

Jones was found in a back bedroom with his throat also slit, but police found a straight razor lodged under his burned body. They suspect that the instrument was taken from his mother's hairstyling kit.

Jones, whom neighbors say was a happy child, seemed to love his family and was said to be fiercely protective of his younger siblings. He used to state that he was the "man of the house." So how could a seemingly well-adjusted child allegedly commit such a heinous act?

After delving into some information that has come to light, investigators believe that Jones may have been unstable. The teen was allegedly ousted from summer school when he was caught trying to start a fire in a bathroom.

Leisha, who was a security guard at a Staten Island Macy's department store, recently caught her son trying to set fire to a bathroom towel.

In addition, a few months ago, a neighbor saw Jones lighting little pieces of paper on fire outside his home while his siblings played all about. The neighbor admonished the teen for playing with matches.

Eyewitnesses also stated that Jones was seen trying to light a fire at a nearby community pool. Although he was asked to leave the pool's premises and was not allowed to swim. When pool staffers were asked by New York Daily News reporters if they had actually seen the boy lighting fires, they denied it.

Shocked neighbor Shaquawna Meaders, 25 (above), told the Daily News, "He wasn't an evil child; he loved his brother and sisters." Other folks on the block commented on what a role model mom Leisha was to her children and are stunned by the devastating turn of events.

Marcia Anderson, 50, Leisha's mother, was inconsolable after learning about the loss of her family. The Washington, D.C., resident said, "My family, my family! She [Leisha] was such a nice person and she was a really good mother. She loved her kids ... and I loved her. I can't believe what they're telling me. He's no killer."

No one else was injured in the blaze. Firefighter officials say that the apartment did not have smoke detectors, which are required by law.