SPANISH FORK, Utah — A Spanish Fork community was rocked Tuesday after two people were found dead inside the home, and their son and stepson is now in custody and considered a person of interest.
Police identified the victims as 58-year-old Timothy Parker and his wife, 50-year-old Jeannie Parker.
Neighbors who live nearby are still dealing with the shock of what happened.
“This neighborhood is known for just like having kids run around full of laughter especially on the warmer days," said Sydney Dominguez. “It’s just crazy that everybody is so quiet right now.”
A day after police performed a welfare check and found the bodies, investigators were still walking around the home, with crime scene tape blocking roads and police vehicles in the street: an unusual sight for the suburban neighborhood .
“I couldn’t even wrap my head around it, around the block from my house, that’s crazy. Trying to put everything together, all the questions that we have” said Dominguez.
A few hours after police began the search for Tryston Robert Erickson, he was located near Steamboat Springs, Colorado in a car he had taken from his Parker's home. When police tried to apprehend Erickson, he led them on a pursuit before finally being taken into custody.
“As we get information now, we’re kind of waiting on what’s taking place in Colorado, how that interview goes and if we get that information, we can find out when he will be brought back,” explained Lt. Cory Slaymaker with the Spanish Fork Police Department.
Police say Erikson’s stepfather and mother were found shot in the basement of the home, but investigators are still working to find a motive.
“We want to make sure that we gather all the pertinent information that we need, that we talk to people we need to talk to, we gather all the evidence and document all that,” said Slaymaker. “So it is very time consuming and it’s obviously taken a lot of our resources in our department to handle this investigation.”
But questions are still left to be answered, especially for those who live just around the corner.
“It’s really devastating,” said neighbor Cassidy Tharp. “It’s something I would have never imagined in this neighborhood, and it makes me sick to my stomach learning that it was just right over there.”
It's an unfortunate situation impacting so many.
“We don’t have many homicides in Spanish Fork, so when it occurs, it affects everybody, the city as a whole,” said Slaymaker.
Two Spanish Fork police officers are now continuing the investigation in Grand County, Colorado, trying to determine whether Erickson had any ties to the area and understand why he was there.
