A 76-year-old father allegedly shot and killed his wife and daughter after getting into a heated argument with them while cleaning their guns at their home in Pennsylvania.
Roger Hanks was taken into custody Thursday night after police found the gunshot bodies of his wife Judith Hanks, 75, and daughter Emily Hanks, 37, in East Marlboro Township. . Chester County District Attorney’s Office.
Chester County District Attorney Chris de Varena-Salove said the murder suspect “unconscionably shot and killed his family over a basic dispute.”
Roger Hanks was cleaning his 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol at his home around 3 p.m. when he got into an argument with his wife. According to Fox43citing indictment documents.
At one point during the argument, he allegedly told his wife, “If you keep this up, this is going to happen to you.”
As the argument continued, Roger Hanks allegedly pointed a handgun at her and told her, “If she doesn’t shut up and leave him alone, he’s going to ‘cork’ her.”
His gun then went off, striking his wife in the chest and fatally wounding her, documents said.
Emily Hanks was “furious” after witnessing her mother fall to the floor.
He is then accused of shooting his daughter in the chest when she ran towards him “in revenge.”
Hanks admitted to his neighbor that he had killed his family, prompting him to call police around 6 p.m., the paper said.
Roger Hanks was taken into custody without incident and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and related crimes, court records say. show.
Medics arrived shortly after to try to save the mother and daughter, but both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The man reportedly told investigators that when he fired the gun, he was aiming at both of the chests.
The father of the alleged killer apparently bragged to police that he was “the best of the best” when it came to shooting, adding that he often shot competitively, the report said.
“I can’t believe someone would react like this,” de Varena-Sarobe said.
He is currently being held in the Chester County Jail without bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 8, 2024.
If convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, Roger Hanks could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
The death penalty is a legal punishment in Pennsylvania, but the state has not carried out an execution since 1999.
