A resident of East Marlborough Township, Pennsylvania has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder following the shooting deaths of his wife and daughter in their shared residence on Thursday. The suspect identified as 76-year-old Roger Hanks claimed that he was a top marksman during questioning by police after confessing to killing both women due to an argument over cleaning his firearm, according to ABC News’ affiliate stations serving the region of Philadelphia, Wilkes Barre Scranton and Harrisburg.
Hanks allegedly told authorities that while cleansing his Smith & Wesson 2.0 9 mm handgun, he warned his wife Judith Hanks, aged 75, “If you keep up this thing is going to go off on you.” After reportedly pointing the weapon at her chest and asserting, “if she did not shut up and leave him alone that he was going to ‘plug’ her,” Mrs. Hanks retorted by stating that Roger didn’t do anything other than sit in his chair all day while failing to consume meals prepared for him by his spouse.
Hanks then claimed during questioning with police officers, as detailed in court documents reviewed by ABC News Philadelphia affiliate station WPVI-TV (6ABC), that the gun “went off” when he pointed it at Judith’s chest after she fell down following being shot. His daughter Emily Hanks aged 37 is said to have then gotten enraged and charged towards her father, prompting him to point his firearm again in response which also allegedly went bang resulting in Emily meeting an untimely death.
As revealed by the police investigation into this case, following the shootings Hanks reportedly called a friend who was informed that Mrs. Hanks “went crazy” and Roger had shot her to this effect after the acquaintance spoke with the emergency services for advice. It emerged that two spent shell casings were found at the scene alongside his gun as police arrived around 6:15 p.m., according to WPVI-TV’s reportage on Thursday evening.
The mother and daughter duo was discovered lying unresponsive in their kitchen by authorities who declared them both dead after arriving shortly before 7 p.m, the station added. Hanks is currently being held without bail at Chester County Prison following his arrest for these heinous crimes as District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe stated that “he senselessly shot and killed his family because of a basic dispute.” The prosecutor further expressed shock over this incident, stating: “[Hanks] reacted in an unbelievably callous manner” by terminating the lives of his kinfolk due to some trivial disagreement.
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