Teenager kills adoptive parents in horror attack: police

A Virginia teenager is said to have killed his two adoptive parents in a horror attack at their home, according to police.

The Chesapeake Police Department was alerted to a report of injured people at a home on the 1800 block of Peartree Street around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 10.

When officers arrived, they found the bodies of Donna Daugherty, 61, and her husband John, 60, and discovered the couple had been killed with a knife and/or hammer, according to NBC affiliate WAVY.

Police took into custody the couple’s 15-year-old adopted son and have since charged him with two counts of first-degree murder.

Neighbors drove past the crime scene and expressed their shock at what happened to the network.

Etta Seagle, who lives down the road from the Daughertys, told WAVY: “I’m stunned. I’m really stunned.”

According to ABC affiliate 8 News, the latest crime data for Virginia revealed that there were 16,823 violent crimes in 2021. This represents an increase from 5,713 reported cases in 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2020, the year with the most recent data, there were 531 homicides in Virginia.

It added that the adjusted death rate in Virginia was 6.4 per 100,000 state residents.

Under Virginia law, aggravated murder is classified as a Class 1 felony and has several definitions, including “the intentional, intentional, and premeditated killing of more than one person as part of the same act.”

The Code of Virginia also states that someone as young as 14 can be tried as an adult and sentenced to life imprisonment.

But anyone sentenced to life in prison for one or more crimes committed as a juvenile and served 20 years in prison is eligible for parole, according to the Virginia Attorney General.

Anyone with information has been asked to anonymously share their tips by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading the P3 Tips app on a mobile device, or visiting www.p3tips.com and sharing information.

news week has reached out to the Chesapeake Police Department for comment.

There have been several cases in which the police have opened investigations into allegations that parents have been attacked by their own children.

In December, a man was arrested for allegedly shooting his parents at their home in New York on Christmas morning.

The unnamed suspect fled the Long Island home after allegedly shooting his 64-year-old mother in the head and his 65-year-old father in the back.

Both victims were conscious and alert when they were taken to a hospital and said they were in stable condition.