GUILTY FL - Four Henderson family members bludgeoned to death, Bradenton, 24 Nov 2005

[mysteriew]

Richard Henderson Jr. beat four family members to death with a metal pipe on Thanksgiving before spending a night in his parents' bed with his mother's body lying nearby, authorities said Monday.

Henderson, 20

Thanksgiving Day began peacefully for the Henderson family.

They rode together in a Chevy Astro van for dinner at an uncle's house in Wauchula, deputies said. Henderson and his father, Richard; mother, Jeaneane; grandmother, June; and 11-year-old brother Jacob made the trip.

Jeaneane Henderson fixed Thanksgiving dinner, which included turkey, ham and pumpkin pie. During the visit, Richard Henderson Jr. seemed annoyed.

"Richard didn't want to be there, and he was making a real butt out of himself," Wells said.

Bad behavior wasn't that unusual for Henderson, who had been arrested before for bringing a gun to school and battering his wife.

He didn't always get along well with his parents, either. A neighbor, Alice Mafera, said she saw him arguing outside with his father early on Thanksgiving Day.

But his annoying behavior was no indication of what would happen next.

According to Sheriff's Office reports:

When the family returned home from dinner, Henderson retreated to his room to play video games with his brother.

Then, without any provocation, he pulled out a metal pipe, two-and-a-half feet long and more than an inch wide, and struck his brother on the back of the head.

"I couldn't bear going into the other rooms and seeing my sister," he said Monday.
http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/NEWS/511290372/1060&Page=2

 

[cherylereed]

Wonder if the young man dabbles in drugs?
:loser:

 

[englishleigh]

Horrible. :furious:

 

[nanandjim]

Yet another idiot who should have killed himself and left his family alone.

 

[SieSie]

MYAKKA CITY, Fla. (AP)
He was being charged with four counts of murder and was jailed Sunday night without bond, authorities said. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

The bodies of his parents, Richard Henderson Sr., 48, and Jeaneane Henderson, 42, grandmother June Henderson, 82, and 11-year-old brother Jake were discovered in the home earlier Sunday, the sheriff's office said.

More at link - CourtTV.com article

 

[PrayersForMaura]

I can't believe I killed my whole family, Manatee man says

BRADENTON -- A 20-year-old man who has confessed to fatally bludgeoning four members of his family on Thanksgiving said he is severely mentally ill and can't explain why he did it.

"I have problems. I can't believe I did what I did," Richard E. Henderson Jr. told a Bradenton Herald reporter in telephone interviews from the county jail Thursday. "I want everyone to know I loved my family. I miss them and I love them."

Manatee County investigators said Henderson told them he sneaked up on his parents, younger brother and grandmother one by one and beat them with a 2-1/2-foot metal pipe on Thanksgiving night.

The bodies of the Hendersons -- Richard Sr., 48; Jeaneane, 42, Jake, 11, and June, 82 -- were found Sunday in separate rooms of their Myakka City home in eastern Manatee County. Richard Henderson Jr. was arrested walking along a busy road Sunday night.

According to a sheriff's office report, Henderson told investigators he killed his family "because they wouldn't let him leave." He said that he was not angry at his family and that after he had hit his brother, he had to kill everyone.

"Henderson planned to collect money to buy enough drugs or poison to kill himself," the report said.

More :
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-122manateemurder,0,6158535.story?coll=sfla-highschool-headlines&track=mostemailedlink


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[sherri79]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/13912632/detail.html
BRADENTON, Fla. -- A jury found a 22-year-old man guilty Thursday in the slayings of four family members on Thanksgiving Day 2005, rejecting a defense argument that he was insane.

The same jury, after hearing arguments by both sides, will recommend whether Richard E. Henderson should be executed or get life in prison for the bludgeoning deaths of his parents, grandmother and younger brother.

Jurors deliberated about eight hours over two days before finding Henderson guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and a single count of second-degree murder in the slaying of his brother

 

[OkieGranny]

From August 2007:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070817/BREAKING02/70817033

A judge today sentenced Richard Henderson Jr., 22, to four life prison terms for the beating deaths of four family members on Thanksgiving Day 2005.