A twisted son was busted after he allegedly beat his ailing elderly parents, then torched their Massachusetts home and fled — ignoring their desperate cries to “come back” and “help us.”
Darius Hazard, 44, was hit with murder and arson charges after police discovered the lifeless bodies of his 76-year-old arthritic mother, Venture, and his 83-year-old father, Donald, in the living room of their charred North Adams home Monday morning, according to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the heartless suspect told investigators he “snapped” while he and his father were helping his mother, who suffered from advanced arthritis and scoliosis, after she fell around 3 a.m., according to court documents obtained by WNYT.
Hazard then shoved both parents to the floor, hitting them repeatedly, striking them with various objects, and even hurling a fan at his father, who begged him to stop, the docs said.
Prosecutors said the alleged killer doused the first floor in gasoline and set the home ablaze, fleeing as his parents frantically pleaded for him to return and help them, shouting, “Help us, we are in trouble.”
About four hours later, neighbors saw smoke billowing from the Francis Street home and called police and fire crews, who discovered the elderly couple dead inside.
Both Venture and Donald died from smoke inhalation, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled.
Hazard was later found in a Walmart parking lot and taken into custody, prosecutors said.
Shocked community members called the Hazard family longtime pillars of the neighborhood, describing the son’s alleged rampage as unthinkable and out of character.
“Before I knew who it was, I saw somebody who just lost their whole family for Thanksgiving, I can’t even imagine,” local Jamie Lynn King told News 10.
“Now knowing who it was, that just makes the weight of it so much heavier. I saw the picture that they took this morning when he was in court. That’s not the face of the Darius we know. He’s obviously very clearly suffering. Everyone knows them. Everyone loved them.”
King added that Hazard also had a learning disability.
Hazard has pleaded not guilty and remains held without bail at Berkshire County House of Correction, the outlet reported.
He is due back in court on Dec. 29.
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