Cops: Teen, girlfriend killed grandparents for inheritance

STERLING, Colo. - Authorities say a teenager accused of killing his grandparents told police he planned the murders so he could get his inheritance. His girlfriend is also charged in the double homicide.

Nineteen-year-old Brendan Lee Johnson and 18-year-old Cassandra Ann Rieb appeared in court Wednesday in Sterling, a small city on Colorado's rural northeastern plains, a day after they were arrested in the deaths of Charles and Shirley Severance, both 70.

Arrest affidavits say both teens told police they planned to kill Johnson's grandparents by smothering them with pillows as they slept. Police say Rieb told them Johnson wanted to inherit their house and $20,000 from their checking account.

Police say the teens dumped some of Shirley Severance's remains near Sterling and others about 30 miles away in Lorenzo, Nebraska. Police discovered Charles Severance's body in his home last week.