An Indian-origin IT professional, who showed up at a Northern California police station with a dead body in his car, confessed to killing four family members, three of whom were found inside his apartment, police said on Tuesday.

Shankar Hangud, 53, was arrested on Monday after he turned himself in to Mount Shasta police and told investigators he had killed the man in his car, Roseville Police Captain Josh Simon said. Police said he also confessed to killing three other people at his apartment in Roseville, 420km south of Mount Shasta.

Hangud is facing four murder charges, Simon said. He is in custody in Placer County.

Officers found the bodies of an adult and two juveniles on Monday at Hangud’s Roseville apartment after Mount Shasta police told them of Hangud’s statement, Simon said.

Hangud left his home in Roseville with the relative found in his car last week, and they travelled to several places in Northern California and ended up in Mount Shasta.

It appeared the victims were killed over a few days, though detectives were still trying to piece together when they died, Simon said. “We’re still working to put that timeline together,” he said. “We can confirm the victim he had in his vehicle in Mount Shasta was an adult male of East Indian descent.”