The decomposing bodies of four young people were found yesterday by U.S. marshals delivering an eviction notice, and a woman who answered the door was taken into custody for questioning.

Investigators were trying to determine whether the woman was related to the four victims, who had been dead at least two weeks, authorities said. Her name was not released.

“She was apparently calm throughout,” a U.S. Marshals Service spokesman, Cole Barnhart, said. Mayor Adrian Fenty said the condition of the bodies made it difficult to identify them. “It is going to take scientific tests run by the chief medical examiner’s office,” he said. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the bodies appeared to be of females ranging in age between 5 and 18. The case may not be ruled a homicide until the medical examiner determines the cause of death, police said.

Meanwhile in Alabama, a day after reporting his four young children were missing, a shrimp fisherman broke down and confessed that he threw them off an 80-foot-high bridge to their deaths, authorities said yesterday.

Lam Luong, 37, was charged with four counts of capital murder, and divers searched the murky waters for the bodies of the youngsters, who ranged in age between a few months and 3 years. Mr. Luong had a drug habit and had argued with his wife, Ngoc Phan, before taking the children, Ms. Phan’s brother-in-law, Kam Phengsisomboun, said.