Two men have been arrested and face capital murder charges in the slayings of a married couple and another person who were reported missing from a Texas town earlier this month.
Trin Lawrence McKnight, 27, and Barrett Copeland, 19, are accused of killing 44-year-old Tiffany Ann Williams, 42-year-old David Wayne Walker, and 55-year-old Robbie Allen Head during a robbery, according to the Parker County Sheriff's Office.
A third person, Dennis Craig Alexander, was initially arrested in the case, but charges have been dropped. He has been released from police custody, Fox4News reported in an update.
On April 21, deputies were called to a home in Granbury, Texas, after a concerned family member was unable to get ahold of Williams.
The family member told deputies that they had noticed that the Ring security doorbell at the home where Williams lived with her husband David Dewayne Walker was missing, according to the arrest affidavit. It is not clear how the couple knew the third victim, Robbie Allen Head.
The inside of the house was found in disarray, and there was no sign of the couple, but their vehicle was parked outside.
Large amounts of blood and a fired gun casing were found, according to the arrest affidavit, which also stated that officials also found evidence consistent with “a bloodletting event” in the backseat and back hatch of the victims' vehicle.
On April 24, three bodies matching the description of the missing trio were discovered next to a creek in Hood County. The victims had gunshot wounds and the two men were covered with fabric, authorities said.
Parker County Sheriff's Office officials confirmed the bodies were of the three people reported missing and determined that they had died on April 20.
An investigation connected McKnight to a bloody fingerprint that was found on the driver's door of the victims' vehicle, deputies said.
McKnight, who was arrested on Monday in Granbury, about six miles from where the murders allegedly happened, told authorities that he and Copeland intended to rob the victims along with a third man. The man reportedly held Williams and Walker at gunpoint while the others searched the house for drugs and money, he claimed.
McKnight said it was the third man who shot all three victims before they wrapped the bodies and dumped them next to the creek.
Copeland was arrested later on Monday, less than a mile from where the alleged murders happened.
Both men have been charged with capital murder and are currently being held at the Parker County Jail with their bonds set at $1,000,000 each.
Copeland was also charged with burglary of a habitation, with an additional bond amount of $50,000. The charge is not connected to the triple murder, according to the sheriff's office.
McKnight was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of a controlled substance from Tarrant County, with an additional bond of $4,300.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.
