Officials: Teen, her boyfriend fatally beat, stabbed grandparents

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA. - Two teens accused of beating and stabbing one’s grandparents to death have both been charged with two counts of murder, reports CBS affiliate WGCL.

The station reports that the bodies of Randall and Wendy Bjorge, both 63, were found on April 8. The medical examiner reportedly says the cause of death was homicide and both victims died as a result of an incision to the throat. Both victims also suffered blunt force trauma. One was found in an upstairs bedroom while the other was found in a hallway. 

The examiner also reportedly believes the couple had been dead for about a week when officers found their bodies. 

The couple’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Cassandra Bjorge, and her boyfriend, 19-year-old Johnny Hiro Rider have been charged in their deaths. 

WGCL reports that concerned family members asked police to check on the couple but that their bodies weren’t found until police found their car at the scene of an attack also allegedly perpetrated by Rider and Bjorge on Rider’s sister and her boyfriend.

The station reports that according to a warrant, both Cassandra Bjorge and Johnny Rider used a baseball bat to severely injure Rider’s sister and his sister’s boyfriend.  Evidence at the scene led police to believe the pair also killed Bjorge’s grandparents. 

Officers obtained a warrant for Rider and Bjorge for Saturday’s attack and police eventually caught up with the suspects at an apartment complex in Suwanee. After a brief SWAT standoff, they were taken in custody.  The pair received self-inflicted injuries prior to their arrest, possibly from a knife.

People who knew the teens say they most recently attended Peachtree Ridge High School, but Bjorge withdrew from school last year. A family friend told WGCL that Cassandra had a difficult childhood and was living with her grandparents.

“Obviously if her grandparents had custody and were raising here, there’s some underlying stories there,” said the woman. “Wendy and Randall were just amazing people. They just wanted to love her. I know that some people may think Cassie’s a monster but, she’s been in my house and she’s played with my daughters.”

Both Rider and Bjorge have been charged with murder and aggravated assault.