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Joseph Brandon Gerdvil, a 41-year-old man in California, has been arrested after allegedly decapitating his elderly parents.
According to USA Today, Gerdvil was booked into Orange County Jail on Saturday, July 13. He has reportedly been charged with two counts of homicide.
Additionally, the outlet reports that as of Thursday, July 18, Gerdvil remains in custody without bond. Furthermore, “additional charges” are reportedly pending in his case despite the fact it remains unclear when he will be due in court.
According to the outlet, Gerdvil lived in a “double-wide mobile home” with his parents, 79-year-old Antoinette Gerdvil and 77-year-old Tonald Walter Gerdvil.
CBS News reports that Gerdvil decapitated and mutilated his parents’ bodies, along with their pet chihuahua, on July 9, around 7:30 a.m. Shortly after, deputies arrived at the residence to discover the gruesome scene.
Around 7:42 a.m., officers reportedly received another call that a “bloody male” was chasing a maintenance worker nearby.
“Our dispatchers updated them that there was a bloody male chasing a maintenance worker in that same neighborhood,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Matthew Parrish reportedly explained. “The deputies immediately started looking for that male. A short time later that person was located… shortly after that person was located an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
USA Today reports that it is unclear how many shots were fired at the 41-year-old. However, the suspect was later transferred to a hospital in stable condition before being taken into police custody.
According to The U.S. Sun, a neighbor named David Desmond reportedly saw Gerdvil arguing with his father the night before the double murder.
“Younger guy was in his face, with his finger pointing at him, in his face,” Desmond reportedly told Fox 11 Los Angeles. “I didn’t hear what they were saying, but he looked really angry and the other guy was old.”
The outlet adds that police are still investigating the motive behind Gerdvil’s alleged attack on his parents.
