A man has been charged with beating to death an elderly Alaskan couple and sexually assaulting their 2-year-old great-granddaughter.

24-year-old Jerry Andrew Active was arrested on Saturday as he fled the murder scene in Anchorage dressed only in his underwear. He is charged with first and second-degree murder, sexual assault and burglary in the deaths of Touch Chea, 71, and his wife, Sorn Sreap, 73.

Police said Ms. Sreap and the toddler were sexually attacked. Police Sergeant Slawomir Markiewicz said there was no indication that the victims were connected to the suspect before they died. "It looks like a totally random act," he said.

The couple suffered significant blunt-object injuries, and investigators at the scene said they were struck by the brutality of the crime.

"They said this was the worst thing they had ever seen in their lives, and these are seasoned detectives," department spokeswoman Anita Shell said.

Parents returned from the cinema

The victims were part of an extended family who lived in a ground-floor apartment. The parents of the toddler had gone to the cinema, and when they returned home found the door locked from the inside. Forcing their way in through a window, they discovered the bodies, they told police.

A man, believed to be in his 20s and with several tattoos, was in a bedroom with their daughter. The woman, who is pregnant, called 911 and police dispatchers heard screaming over the phone.

A struggle began as the couple tried to keep the suspect from leaving, police said. But he was able to get away after a few minutes of fighting and was found a few blocks away.

He had apparently entered from the window. Police have withheld the names of the toddler and her parents.