A seventeen-year-old boy from Arkansas, Jonathan Rolfe, has been charged on Tuesday with three counts of capital murder after St. Francis County deputies discovered three lifeless bodies as reported by WHBQ.
The bodies were identified as Rolfe’s mother, Shalanda Barton, 34, her daughter Kelsie Thompson, 13, and a man, Ja’Terrence Wright, 32.
Police found the bodies in the home of Barton as they responded to a call to do a welfare check. Barton and Wright were found dead on a bed, while Thompson was found dead on a bedroom floor. They all died of gunshot wounds, according to the St. Francis County Sheriff’s office.
It was also reported that a four-year-old child was also at the residence during the shooting but was unharmed. Sheriff Bobby May stated that the murders were “cold-blooded.” Rolfe is being charged as an adult.
The Arkansas State Laboratory provided a forensic report that led to the suspect’s arrest, Jonathan Rolfe.
As reported by the outlet, Rolfe committed the murders before 2 am on November 27th, stole Barton’s car, abandoning it with the key fob.
Clarisse Jackson, a relative of Wright, spoke of her shock and disbelief at the murders at a press conference, saying, “I understand Ja’Terrance was a stranger to him, but to know he could kill his mother and sibling in cold blood, in such a way is really hard to wrap my mind and understand that.”
Kelsie Thompson was a student at the Forest City School District, though not named in the school’s statement.