Grandson charged in Mississippi slaying of elderly couple
FLORENCE, Miss. - A man has been arrested in the death of his grandparents, whose bodies were found in their home in Rankin County, Mississippi, according to Sheriff Bryan Bailey.
Bailey said in a news release Wednesday that Zachary Alexander Stanford, 22, of Ocean Springs, has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Robert and Peggy Faries.
Bailey said a family friend called authorities about 5 p.m. Tuesday after he had stopped by the house to check on the 79-year-old man and his 77-year-old wife. When they didn't come to the door he walked around the back of the house and saw the wife's body lying on the floor. He called a family member who unlocked the residence where the body of the husband was discovered in a bedroom, Bailey said.
A Magee police officer subsequently stopped Stanford for careless driving and noticed he had blood on his clothes and in his vehicle, the sheriff said. Magee police contacted the Rankin County Sheriff's Department.
Stanford appeared in court Thursday and was ordered held without bail. His lawyer requested he undergo a mental evaluation and the judge agreed. The judge also ordered Stanford to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, reports CBS affiliate WJTV.
Bailey did not release a cause of death. Autopsies are being conducted.