MIDDLETOWN, PA – A 76-year-old man was arrested for fatally shooting his wife and adult daughter in their home in Chester, Pennsylvania. Roger Lee Hanks, originally from Virginia and most recently of Kennett Square, allegedly called 911 to report the shooting which occurred on the early evening of a day last week.
Troopers arrived at the family’s residence on Wiltshire Drive around 6 p.m. that day to find the wife and daughter unresponsive with gunshot wounds, later pronounced dead. The victims were shot in the chest in the family kitchen during a dispute, according to court documents.
The incident apparently started following a disagreement on the drive home from the hospital when the family picked up one of the victims. At dinner, Hanks, after cleaning his gun and leaving it on the table, pointed it at his wife, threatening her in response to her requests for him to eat before ultimately pulling the trigger, the affidavit revealed.
Subsequently, as Judith collapsed, Emily, the daughter, attacked Hanks, who then shot her too. During interrogations, Hanks boasted about his shooting abilities, claiming he was “born with a fishing rod and a gun in his hand,” as per the affidavit.
Hanks was taken into custody in the garage of his home and is facing severe criminal charges related to the incident. His preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Albert Michael Iacocca happened on Friday and he has been denied bail as per the state law.