A West Virginia man was arrested last week after he allegedly chased his parents while wielding an ax, bow, and arrow, telling officers he “had to kill them to get the demons out,” according to a local report.
Johnny Carson York Jr., 45, attempted to injure his family members at his home in Bramwell, a small town near the state’s southern border with Virginia.
Officers arrived and learned from a family member that York had been asked to put some items away in a shed before it started to rain. The suspect threw a lighter at the family member and chased them both with a sledgehammer.
The parents were able to hide and call 911, which is when they said York tried to shoot them with the bow and arrow.
“I feel like I have to kill them all to get the demons out of their bodies,” York told police officers after they detained him.
Family members told officers that the day had gotten off to a bad start after he broke a television in the house that same day, at which point it did not progress, but the rest of the day went out of control.
In 2020, Carson York had been summoned to court for a family violence order, the case was dismissed for lack of evidence, and he returned home.
York was booked into the South Regional Jail on charges of malicious assault and destruction of property, according to jail records.
Added to this detention are the cases of domestic violence presented by his parents a year ago, in which there were no physical or health consequences, only property damage.
While awaiting trial, psychological tests will be carried out to determine the mental health status of the accused to determine if he’d be detained in a common jail or in a medical facility.
