Photo: Facebook
A 28-year-old Pennsylvania man is facing murder charges after allegedly confessing to killing his mother, stepfather and two younger half-brothers inside their home in a nightmarish quadruple homicide, say police.
On Wednesday night, Maurice Louis, 29, of West Philadelphia,was arrested and charged with four counts of criminal homicide in connection with the shooting deaths of his mother, Janet Woodson, 51, his stepfather, Leslie Holmes, 56, and his two half-brothers, Sy-eed Woodson, 18, and Leslie Holmes, Jr., 7, say police, local station NBC 10 reports.
Maurice Louis, 29.Philadelphia Police
Police are unsure of the motive at this point in the investigation. But Acting Philadelphia Police Commissioner Christine Coulter said Louis allegedly bought a shotgun just hours before he killed his family, local station NBC10 reports.
“He just obviously had some kind of hatred for family members or in that moment did and made a decision to kill them,”Coulter said, local station CBS3 reports.
The horrific murders came to light Wednesday when the couplefailed to show up for their jobs at a nursing home facilityand their employer called 911, Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Sullivan told reporters, local station ABC6 reports.
Leslie Holmes, Leslie holmes Jr. and Sy-eed Woodson.
This was “very unlike them,” he said. “They were longstanding, very dependable employees.”
When officers arrived at the family’s West Philadelphia home at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, they found mail stuffed in the mailbox and trash cans that hadn’t been taken to the curb even though it was garbage day, he said.
Since officers couldn’t get into the home, they asked local firefighters to help them access the second floor, Sullivan said.
Once inside the home, officers found Louis on the second floor.
He was allegedly found drinking from a bottle of vodka and sitting next to a rifle case, investigators said, NBC10 reports.
“They brought him out and he was handcuffed and he didn’t have any clothes on,” neighbor, Bernadine Mills told NBC10. “I said, ‘Why are you taking him? He lives there.’ And I didn’t know until the ladies told me.”
Maurice Louis.Facebook
Officers went through the house and found the family members dead on each floor, he said.
Sy-eed’s body was found in his bedroom. His 7-year-old brother’s body was found in the kitchen.
They were all shot in the head, CBS3 reports.
Louis was living in the home with the family at the time of the murders, said Coulter.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Other family members are devastated.
When Woodson’s sister Kia Morgan Smith found out about the murders, she said she was “just screaming,” she told CBS3. “I said, ‘Please tell me it’s not true. It’s not true, it’s not true,’ and she said it’s true,” Smith said.
She is devasted that two young lives were taken in the tragedy.
“Sy-eed is such a smart kid,” she said. “He’s got awards, he’s got good grades,” Smith said. “[Leslie Jr.] was so talkative and he was so smart. It just breaks my heart.”
Neighbors, too, are shocked. “They were a beautiful bunch of people from what I could see. From what I knew of them,” neighbor, Regina Jones told NBC10. “Just hardworking and just a normal family on the block.”
Louis remains in custody. It is unclear whether he has entered a plea or if he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
source: people.com
