(FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.) — Two suspects have been apprehended in the killings of an active duty service member and his wife, both of whom were military physicians, authorities announced Thursday.
The “brutal” double slayings Wednesday morning took the lives of Army Col. Dr. Edward McDaniel and his wife, Dr. Brenda McDaniel, in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., said Fairfax County police.
Edward McDaniel, 55, was active duty and Brenda McDaniel, 63, was retired, police said.
The McDaniels were “distinguished military veterans” who were shot dead in “cold blood” in front of their home, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference Wednesday.
Two people were inside the house at the time and survived uninjured, police said.
Police released the name of suspect Ronnie Keandre Marshall, 20, on Thursday afternoon and said he was at large. Hours later, police announced that he had been apprehended.
WANTED FOR MURDER: Ronnie Keandre Marshall, 20, is wanted in connection to yesterday’s Flint St. double murder, he is considered armed and dangerous, call 911 with information on whereabouts. Picture is from 2019. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/3wmDFM3J1i
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 27, 2021
Police announced earlier Thursday that a second person of interest was in custody.
“You don’t murder a US Army Colonel and his wife in the Washington DC region without swift outrage from police & our community,” Fairfax County police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.
Authorities had responded to the McDaniels’ home on Monday — for a dispute and burglary report — and police said they believe “Monday’s response is directly connected” to the killings.
“I think there’s a direct correlation to who was there Monday was there today,” Maj. Ed O’Carroll, commander of the department’s major crimes bureau, said at a Wednesday news conference.
“We have not defined an exact motive,” O’Carroll added.
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