Virginia Massacre Suspect Christopher Bryan Speight Wiped Out Family – 3 Teens, Toddler, Say Cops
Photo: Morgan Dobyns, Emily Quarles, and Ronald "Bo" Scruggs.
The 39-year-old security guard surrendered to authorities at daybreak after leading police on an 18-hour manhunt following the slayings at a house in central Virginia where deputies found a mortally wounded man on the road and seven bodies in or near the house.
Photo: Christopher Bryan Speight.
State police identified the victims of the slayings as 16-year-old Ronald Scruggs; 15-year-old Emily Quarles; 43-year-old Karen and Jonathan Quarles; 38-year-old Dwayne and Lauralee Sipe; 15-year-old Morgan Dobyns; and 4-year-old Joshua Sipe.
Their bodies are at the state medical examiner's office in Roanoke, where the cause of death will be determined.
A bomb squad discovered a multitude of explosives at Speight's home, and crews were detonating the devices into the night.
Photo: Murder suspect Christopher Speight, second from right, is led out of State Police headquarters in Appomattox, Va., Jan. 20, 2010.
Speight had no weapons when he surrendered at the house. He was wearing a bulletproof vest over a black fleece jacket, camouflage pants and mud-caked boots. Neither the sheriff nor a state police spokeswoman would disclose what Speight said when he gave up.
Speight was charged with one count of first degree murder, but other charges are likely. He's being held at a jail in Lynchburg.
Police say Speight knew all the victims and had lived at the home where the slayings occurred Tuesday, but they did not outline the victims' relationships or discuss a motive.
Speight co-owned and lived in the home where some of the bodies were found. Reporters were allowed to see the home Wednesday. The two-story house had a big patio, where there was furniture, a children's bicycle and a plastic basketball hoop. The yard was landscaped and well-manicured.
No court date for Speight has been set.
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January 20, 2010 - Christopher Speight, Suspected of Killing 8 in Virginia, Surrenders