A teenager in Norfolk, Virginia, who was accused of murdering both his parents pleaded guilty in court this week. The reason he committed the crime, he explained, was that he’d gotten angry over routine punishments.
“I just remember getting mad,” 16-year-old Vincent Parker told investigators. “It’s all from my dad. All this stuff like my dad taking away my iPod and stuff.”
Warning: the details of the murders are gruesome. Parker first attacked his mother by dousing her with pepper spray, stabbing her in the eye and beating her with a baseball bat and crowbar until she stopped breathing, CBS affiliate WTKR reports. When his father got home afterwards, Parker attacked his father with a crowbar and stabbed him several times.
Parker pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in adult court this week, and his sentence will be handed down in September. His family members were puzzled because he has no criminal record and he’s an honor-roll student.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- Ukraine’s Plan to Survive Trump
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com