Self-Proclaimed ‘Best Of The Best’ Gun Owner Charged With First-Degree Murder Of Wife And Daughter

Police in Pennsylvania charged a 76-year-old husband and father with murdering his wife and daughter Thursday night, FOX43 reported.

Roger Hanks was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and related offenses for allegedly fatally shooting his wife, Judith, and their adult daughter, Emily, during an argument at their Kennett Square home, according to FOX43, citing prosecutors.

Investigators said state troopers were dispatched to Hanks’s home after Hanks allegedly reported the shooting himself, telling the dispatcher that he “went crazy” and shot his wife and daughter, FOX43 reported. (RELATED: Police Say Man Killed Wife, Three Sons In Apparent Murder-Suicide)

A man has been charged with shooting and killing his own wife and daughter in a Chester County, Pennsylvania home. https://t.co/TAhV26NH4t

— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) April 26, 2024

Officers arrived and reportedly found the mother and daughter unresponsive on the floor of their kitchen. The two women were transported to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead, according to the outlet.

Hanks told police the alleged shooting stemmed from an argument he and his wife had engaged in earlier when Hanks’s wife reportedly said he “doesn’t do anything” and “just sits in his chair,” FOX43 reported.

Hanks was cleaning his Smith and Wesson 2.0 9mm handgun at the time and told his wife, “If you keep up, this thing is going to go off on you,” ABC6 reported, citing charging documents.

Hanks, who later told later police he was “the best of the best” using a firearm, allegedly pointed the gun at his wife and threatened to “plug” her, according to ABC6, referencing court documents.

Hanks claimed he did not know the gun was loaded and that it “went off,” hitting and killing his wife and sending his daughter into a rage, FOX43 reported, citing police.

Hanks told police his daughter then “came at him” and he shot her, according to FOX43.

“(Hanks) senselessly shot and killed his family because of a basic dispute,” Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said in a press release. “It is unfathomable that anyone would react this way.”

Hanks, who reportedly told police he had consumed two German beers and some Irish whiskey before the shooting, is being held without bail in Chester County Prison, according to ABC6.