A small rural town in South Carolina saw a brutal family tragedy after a 19-year-old man allegedly murdered his retired grandparents inside their home earlier this month.
Authorities in Oconee County say Levi Kevin Jones was arrested late on Friday and charged with two counts of murder following the deaths of Larry Moore and his wife Sandra Moore.
The retired couple were discovered inside their home on Cromer Moore Road near Westminster on January 15, after relatives raised concerns when repeated attempts to contact them failed.
Deputies were sent to the property to carry out a welfare check. Inside, investigators and the county coroner found the couple dead, later confirming the case as a double homicide.
According to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office, Larry Moore died from multiple stab wounds, while Sandra Moore was killed by manual strangulation.
Post-mortem examinations were carried out the following day. Arrest warrants allege Jones stabbed his grandfather several times in the torso and neck, before strangling his grandmother, cutting off her airway and blood flow. A knife is believed to have been used in the attack.
Jones is in custody and has been charged with two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings.