LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) — Georgia authorities have arrested a man for killing his parents in their Largo home.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said they received a call on Friday asking for a welfare check because an employee had not shown up for work.
Deputies traced their way to a residence at 29 Saunders Avenue in Largo, discovering the lifeless bodies of 53-year-old Elizabeth Lee Kirchner and her spouse, 64-year-old Steven Eric Kirchner. The couple had been fatally shot in their living room.
Detectives soon learned the couple’s adult son, 37-year-old Nicholas Steven Kirchner, had already left the scene before they arrived.
Following this, detectives in Pinellas County got a call from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, informing them about an incident involving Nicholas Kirchner. Reportedly, he stated, “I’ve already killed two people, I’ll kill some more.”
Officials have not said what that incident was, but it led them to arrest Kirchener in Taliaferro County, Georgia.
Residents in the Kirchner neighborhood express their disbelief over the tragedy. “It’s astounding to be just a couple of houses away from something like this; it’s usually a peaceful area,” remarked Tracy Dinehart.
Other neighbors, who did not want to be identified, said the couple were friendly and they are saddened by their murder.
Nicholas Kirchner is now facing two counts of first-degree murder.
