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Man faces first-degree murder charges after wife, daughter found dead at East Marlborough Township home

76-year-old man in custody after 2 found dead in East Marlborough Township
76-year-old man in custody after 2 found dead in East Marlborough Township 00:18

EAST MARLBOROUGH TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- An East Marlborough Township man was charged with shooting and killing his wife and daughter, the Chester County District Attorney's Office and Pennsylvania State Police announced on Friday.

Roger Hanks, 76, faces several charges including two counts of first-degree murder.

State police were called to a home on the 200 block of Wiltshire Drive in Chester County after 6 p.m. Thursday and when they arrived, they found the bodies of Judith Hanks, 75, and Emily Hanks, 37.

Both were pronounced dead on the scene.

Roger Hanks was directed out of his home through the garage and taken into custody, officials said.

According to police documents, he got into an argument with his wife while cleaning his gun.

"The Defendant senselessly shot and killed his family because of a basic dispute. It is unfathomable that anyone would react this way. I want to thank the Pennsylvania State Police who acted quickly and arrested the Defendant after being dispatched to the scene," District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said in a news release.

He is being held at Chester County Prison without bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 8.

If anyone has information about the shooting, officials urge them to call Pennsylvania State Police Avondale at 610-268-2022.

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