A man from New Jersey has been charged with fatally stabbing both of his parents inside the family’s house.
According to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police troopers responded to a residence on Tipton Drive in Hopewell for a wellness check around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 14, and discovered Brenda L. Williams and Billy C. Williams Jr., both in their 60s, dead from apparent stab wounds.
Craig Williams, 34, was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree desecration of human remains, and two counts of third- and fourth-degree weapons possession.
He was additionally charged with obstruction, hindering apprehension, and tampering with evidence.
Williams and his parents appeared to have lived together at the same home, NJ.com reported.
According to an affidavit of probable cause acquired by the outlet, a relative of the parents requested a well-being check at the residence after neither parent replied to several calls over the weekend and Billy Williams failed to show up to work on Monday, March 13.
According to the affidavit, when troopers arrived at their residence, Craig Williams answered the door but stated that his parents were not present and refused to let them in.
The troopers persevered, and he eventually allowed them in. According to the affidavit, Williams escorted them to his parents’ bedroom, where they discovered the slain victims.
Williams, who had blood stains on his clothing, told the troopers that his parents had been inside for two days.
Several knives and an axe were seized by police as evidence, the affidavit says.
Troopers had responded to 20 separate incidents at the home in just the last two years, including domestic violence, harassment, assaults and verbal arguments, investigators learned.
“All incidents involved Craig Williams, who was arrested numerous times for assaulting both decedents,” State Police Investigator J.P. McKay wrote in the affidavit.
Craig Williams was booked at the Cumberland County Jail, records show. Prosecutors plan to request he remain behind bars until his trial, officials told NJ.com.