Georgia man accused of fatally shooting his mother and her partner in their bed
Georgia authorities arrested a 55-year-old man for allegedly killing his elderly mother and her partner. Virginia D. Thomas, 73, and Charles Barnett, 75, were found dead in their bed on Monday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Bernard Rittenhouse, of Waycross, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of burglary for the shooting deaths, according to the Ware County Sheriff's Office. He was arrested at his home and taken to the Ware County Jail on Tuesday "without incident."
A day earlier, a relative had called 911 at 8:49 a.m., saying they found Barnett and Thomas dead in their Waycross home, the sheriffs office said. When deputies arrived to their residence they found the elderly couple had suffered apparent gunshot wounds.
Ware County Sheriff Carl James requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Douglas Regional Office conduct a death investigation.
The investigation is ongoing. Once it's completed, the case will be handed off to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for prosecution, the sheriff's office said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ware County Sheriff's Office at (912) 287-4326 or the GBI Douglas Office at (912) 389-4103.
Authorities have not named a motive for the crime.
"This is a truly sad and heinous crime that was committed on Mr. Barnett and Ms. Thomas," James said in a statement. "I would like to thank the GBI agents, as well as our Detectives and Deputies that have worked so tirelessly to ensure that justice can be done."
