What makes people, without hesitation, cast aside relationships? Or in this case, end the relationship without hesitation. One answer might be selfishness. That certainly seems to be a factor in the crime I’m sharing today.
In this case, a 26-year-old man lived with his grandparents—his father’s father and his wife. Reportedly, the grandson told his 22-year-old fiancé, he’d grown ‘tired’ of his grandparents (ages 71 and 73). Most people would move out when they no longer cared for their relative who they’d been living with.
This grandson plotted with his fiancé to kill his grandparents and start a commune on their oceanfront property.
The girlfriend claimed they’d joked when they talked about killing the grandparents and starting a commune.
Leading up the murder, the grandson told his father that the grandparents had fevers, sore throats, and had possibly contracted COVID. The grandson didn’t allow his father to speak with his parents, because they were admitted to a local hospital—all lies.
On the night the plan was to be executed, the grandson texted his fiancé his concerns. They’d planned to kill them while they slept. But the grandparents had stayed up past their typical bedtime. The fiancé gave him specific advice on how to follow through differently. She ended with, “You’re so amazing, you got this.”
After he murdered his grandparents, he set the home on fire. Once the fire crew had extinguished the fire, they looked for a cause. They found the grandparents in the basement in unnatural positions like someone had dragged them down the stairs. They also found gas cans in the kitchen and one in the grandson’s vehicle. The autopsies showed the grandparents had been stabbed to death prior to the fire. #murderplot
Law enforcement charged four people in this selfish and senseless murder case—the grandson, his fiancé, and two friends.
A jury found the grandson guilty of two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and arson. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
A jury found one friend, age 26, who was present for the murders and arson, guilty of two counts of murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. A judge sentenced him to the same life in prison without parole.
The second friend (also age 26) cooperated with the authorities and testified against the two previously mentioned. He accepted a plea agreement, pleading guilty to two counts of murder in the first degree. A judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison.
The fiancé pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree (even though she wasn’t present at the time), and conspiracy to commit murder. She implicated the two friends. A judge sentenced her to over 33 years in prison.
Do you think the punishments fit the crimes?
Source: Pierce County Sheriff, Law & Crime, New York Post, The Seattle Times, Key Peninsula News, Fox 13
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