Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
Christopher Speight Arrested After Manhunt; Accused of Slaughtering 8 People in Virginia Home
Friday, January 22, 2010 at 12:18 pm
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| Dwayne and Lauralee Sipe were among the eight murdered at the home |
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| Emily A. Quarles, 15, and Morgan L. Dobyns, 15 were found dead at the home, which was loaded with guns and explosives |
The search went on through the night with police using dogs, heat-sensing equipment and helicopters. But at least one chopper was forced to the ground after Speight shot its fuel tank. He finally surrendered at 7 this morning after being cornered.
Back at his home, detectives would find a grisly scene. Three bodies were found inside the home and four outside. Speight supposedly lived at the house, but police aren't saying what his relationship was to the victims, or why he might have wanted them dead. The man found along the road died on his way to the hospital.
This morning, police were using dogs to hunt for bombs near the home. They seemed to believe the land may be rigged with explosives, but didn't explain the basis for their reasoning.
We'll keep you posted as this story develops. Meanwhile, a new Facebook page devoted to those who died.
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| 16-year-old Bo Scruggs |
The dead are Ronald
I. Scruggs II, 16; Emily A. Quarles, 15; Karen Quarles, 43; Jonathan L.
Quarles, 43; Dwayne S. Sipe, 38; Lauralee Sipe, 38; Joshua Sipe, 4; and
Morgan L. Dobyns, 15.
The victims include members of his sister's family as well as visiting friends. Reports also indicate that police had to diffuse numerous bombs on the property.
Speight was a security guard for Old Dominion Security Company, a huge gun collector, and a fairly skilled marksman accomplished with high-powered weapons. He also was something of a nut, having begun to build a bomb shelter on his property before abandoning the project.
But friends say his trouble began in 2007 upon the death of his mother. He had ringing in his ears since then, and somehow believed that his sister was trying to force him off the farm given to them by their mother. A family lawyer finds this odd, since the sister had deeded the property to Speight just last week.
His sister had moved in a year before, while Speight lived in a basement bedroom. The plan was for them to build another house for him, but friends say Speight felt he was doing most of the work.
"Chris didn't have to give up. I believe he would have been able to pick them off one by one until eventually somebody would have got him but I believe the body count would have been a lot higher," he told ABC-13.
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| John, Emily and Karen Quarles were shot to death at the home in rural Virginia |
After his father abandoned the family 30 years ago, Seight became especially close to his mother until her death, says uncle Thomas Giglio. In 2007, he had a nervous breakdown and ran away from his sister's home in Georgia. His brother-in-law, Dwayne Sipe, who was among the dead, later found him at a motel.
But while they knew he had mental problems, relatives never expected he'd turn violent. This despite his passion for collecting guns and military equipment, including explosives and bullet proof vests, which apparently doesn't bat an eye in rural Virginia.
Coworkers say he was constantly worried that his sister would throw him out of their house, but Giglio says there was no tumult in the home, and his sister had no intention of casting him aside.
In the end, it appears Speight simply wasn't cogent enough to see reality.
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