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A man has been arrested after allegedly beating his elderly parents and setting them on fire. House in Massachusetts They set the fire and left them in the house despite their pleas for help, authorities said.
Darius Hazard, 44, was charged with murder and arson after his parents, Venture, 76, and Donald, 83, were found dead in the living room of their burned-out North Adams home on Monday, according to the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office.
Hazard admitted that he attacked his parents in their home, poured gasoline on the floor and set the house on fire before driving away and abandoning them in the burning structure, investigators said.
Both of the suspect's parents were found dead in the home by firefighters who responded to the fire around 7 a.m. Monday. The medical examiner concluded that the cause of death was smoke inhalation.
AN ILLINOIS MAN IS CHARGED WITH ARSON AFTER ALLEGEDLY SETTING A HOUSE ON THANKSGIVING DAY.
Darius Hazard, 44, was charged with murder and arson. (North Adams Police Department)
Police later detained Hazard in the Walmart parking lot. The police searched him and he said he had a knife in his car. He said he tried to stab himself and suffered injuries to his hip and chest.
Prosecutors said Hazard told the officers He became “very, very angry” while working with his father to help his mother, who had difficulty walking and suffered from advanced arthritis and scoliosis, after she fell around 3 a.m., according to WNYT.
“I think I lost it,” he said.
Investigators say Darius Hazard admitted to attacking his parents in their home, pouring gasoline on the floor and setting the house on fire. (North Adams Police Department)
Hazard yelled at them and hit them repeatedly, the newspaper reported. His father told him to stop, which he eventually did. He then pushed both parents to the floor and hit them with various objects and also with his fist. He even threw a fan at his father.
He poured gasoline on the floor upstairs and in the living room, lit a match and drove away.
His parents were injured but alive when he left. He told police they shouted “come back” and “help me, help us, we're in trouble” as he left the house.
WHO IS JONATHAN RINDERKNECHT, THE PALISADES FIRE SUSPECT ACCUSED OF STARTING THE DEADLY FIRE?
Darius Hazard told officers he became “really, really angry” when he and his father helped his mother after she fell about 3am. (North Adams Police Department)
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Hazard said he knew he shouldn't have lost his cool like that. He said he had lost his temper and yelled or broken things in the past, but this was the first time he had attacked his parents.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody without bail at the Berkshire County Correctional Facility, News 10 reported.
