A Texas man was arrested for the murder of his wife and eldest daughter after family members told police that they had been missing for months.
Robert Morairity was charged with tampering with a corpse, murder and capital murder over the deaths of his wife Kimberly Kellam and their 11-year-old daughter.
Wise County Sheriff’s Office says that the alarm was raised months after the victims were last seen alive.
“I wish they would’ve called us earlier, but they neglected to do that,” Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin told WFAA. “They were all scared to death of this guy, they were afraid to say anything,” he added.
Deputies visited the family home near Decatur, Texas, but found that the property had been abandoned.
Investigators then tracked down the suspect who they say was living in Dallas with two of his children, who are aged three and 10.
Mr Morairity told deputies that he had not seen his wife and daughter in six months, before allegedly admitting that they were dead and in the garage at the abandoned home.
He then accompanied a Texas Ranger to the property where the bodies were found.
“They were covered, and stowed away in the garage but it wasn’t hard to find ‘em. We don’t know exactly what the motive was, exactly how they were killed, but we know it was at his hand,” the sheriff said. “And they had been there for quite some time… probably 5-6 months.”
Mr Morairity was arrested and taken to the Wise County jail where he is being held on an $800,000 bond.
The bodies of both victims were sent to the Dallas Medical Examiner’s Officer for an autopsy.
The two surviving children were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.
