KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Police in Chester County have charged a Kennett Square man with the murders of his wife and daughter Thursday night, District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Roger Hanks, 76, of Kennett Square, shot and killed his wife, Judith, and his adult daughter, Emily, during a dispute in their home Thursday evening. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and related offenses, prosecutors said.
Hanks is being held without bail in Chester County Prison.
According to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by investigators, troopers were dispatched to Hanks' home on the 200 block of Wiltshire Drive Thursday for a reported shooting. The reporting caller said they had gotten a phone call from Hanks, who told her he "went crazy" and shot his wife and daughter, police said.
Arriving officers found both women lying unresponsive in the kitchen of their home, about 1-2 feet apart, police said. Both were transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead at 6:50 and 6:58 p.m.
Hanks later told police that before the shooting, he and his wife got into a verbal dispute, according to the complaint. Hanks said his wife told him he "doesn't do anything" and "just sits in his chair." She was also upset because Hanks was not eating his food, he told police.
Hanks, who told police he had been cleaning a Smith and Wesson 2.0 9mm handgun, reported he told his wife "If you keep this up this thing (the handgun) is going to go off on you," and that if she didn't "shut up," he would "plug" her, according to police.
Hanks said he then pointed the gun at his wife but claimed he was unaware it was loaded. The gun then "went off," causing his wife to fall to the ground, Hanks told police.
Hanks said that when Judith Hanks fell to the ground, his daughter "went into a rage" and "came at him," police reported. Hanks said he then pointed the gun at his daughter and shot her.
"(Hanks) senselessly shot and killed his family because of a basic dispute," de Barrena-Sarobe said in a press release announcing the charges. "It is unfathomable that anyone would react this way. I want to thank the Pennsylvania State Police who acted quickly and arrested the defendant after being dispatched to the scene."
