Elderly Ind. couple stabbed to death in 2 separate incidents

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - A man is in custody in northwest Indiana on Friday after he allegedly stabbed an elderly couple to death in two separate incidents, reports CBS Chicago.

The middle-aged suspect is accused of killing 80-year-old Margarine Haywood at a hospital after he allegedly killed her husband, 88-year-old James Haywood, at the couple's home in Gary, Ind.

According to the station, Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville was placed on lockdown early Friday morning after the suspect fatally stabbed Margarine Haywood, who was there as a patient, around 12:30 a.m. It is unclear if the woman was in the hospital as a result of the assault on her husband.

"The Merrillville Police Department was notified of an assault here at the hospital on one of the patients," said Robery Wiley, Merrillville Chief of Police. "They received notification that there was some sort of altercation going on in one of the rooms. Upon our officers' arrival, the victim was being worked on by the staff; so it was within moments of the actual incident."

Wiley said officers searched the hospital grounds and the surrounding area. They also contacted police in Gary, Ind., less than 10 miles away, to check the victim's home.

The station reports Gary Police Chief Wade Ingram said officers checked the home shortly after 3 a.m. and discovered the body of an elderly man inside. Sources told CBS Chicago the suspect had stabbed James Haywood to death before the incident at the hospital.

Both victims suffered multiple stab wounds in the assaults. Police said they're confident the killings were not random and that the suspect knew the victims. However, officials have not said what the man's relationship was to the couple.

Ingram said Gary police said the suspect was arrested Friday morning during a traffic stop. Methodist Hospital officials told the station the lockdown was lifted around 5 a.m. when it was learned police had someone in custody.

"I was heartbroken," said Harold West, a neighbor of the Haywoods, about his reaction to the disturbing news. "Who kills senior citizens? Who does that?" West said the couple was polite and that their two sons - both in their 60s - would visit often.

James Haywood used to work as a top security official for Gary's public housing authority, according to CBS Chicago.

The station reports the suspect was being questioned at the Gary police station Friday morning.

Charges are expected soon.