Teenager kills adoptive parents in horror attack: Police

A Virginia teenager allegedly killed both of his adoptive parents in a horror attack at their home, according to police.

Chesapeake police were alerted to a report of injured people within a home in the 1800 block of Peartree Street at about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 10.

When officers arrived, they found the bodies of Donna Daugherty, 61, and her husband John, 60, and determined the couple had been killed by a knife and/or a hammer, according to NBC affiliate WAVY.

Police took the couple’s 15-year-old adopted son into custody and have since charged him with two counts of aggravated murder.

Neighbors drove past the crime scene and expressed their shock to the network about what had happened.

Etta Seagle, who lives down the street from the Daughertys, told WAVY: “I’m stunned. I really am stunned.”

According to ABC affiliate 8 News, the latest crime data for Virginia found there were 16,823 violent offenses in 2021. This represents an increase from 5,713 reported instances in 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found there were 531 homicides in Virginia in 2020, the year with the latest data.

It added, that when adjusted, the death rate in Virginia was 6.4 for every 100,000 residents in the state.

Under Virginia law, aggravated murder is classed as a class 1 felony and has several definitions, including “the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of more than one person as part of the same act.”

The Code of Virginia also states that someone as young as 14 can be tried as an adult and sentenced to life imprisonment.

But anyone sentenced to life imprisonment for one or multiple felonies committed while a juvenile and who served 20 years in prison is eligible for parole, according to the Virginia Attorney General.

Anyone with any information has been asked to share their tips anonymously by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading P3 tips app to a mobile device, or visiting www.p3tips.com and sharing information.

Newsweek has contacted the Chesapeake Police Department for comment.

There have been several instances where police have launched investigations into allegations that parents have been attacked by their own children.

In December, a man was arrested for allegedly shooting his parents in their New York home on Christmas Day morning.

The unnamed suspect fled the Long Island home after he allegedly shot his 64-year-old mother in the head and his father, aged 65, in the back.

Both victims were conscious and alert when they were transferred to a hospital and were said to be in a stable condition.