An Indiana man and his girlfriend have been charged in the killings of the man’s mother and his decorated Vietnam War veteran grandfather.
Dearborn County Sheriff’s deputies were performing a welfare check in Aurora, Indiana, on January 19 when they discovered the bodies of Walter Bryant Jr, 78, and his daughter, Faith Craig, 58, inside the basement of a house in the 5000 block of Douglas Drive.
Police say 28-year-old Cody Booth and 47-year-old Margie Thompson, both of Aurora, were found the next day in Kentucky in Bryant’s vehicle.
Couple charged: Cody Booth, 28 (left), and his girlfriend, Margie Thompson, 47 (right), have been charged with murdering Booth’s mother and grandfather in Indiana this month
The pair, pictured here dressed in what appear to be ‘cops and robbers’ themed Halloween costumes, were apprehended in Kentucky on January 20
They were charged on Monday with two counts of murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and conspiracy to commit robbery.
According to police, evidence and autopsies determined that both Bryant and Craig were stabbed, and the man also had blunt force trauma to his head. The father and daughter were killed two days before their bodies were found.
Booth was arrested on an outstanding warrant for a Kentucky parole violation. He is being held in a Kentucky jail pending him extradition to Indiana.
Thompson was initially questioned and released, the re-arrested on Friday. She remains in the Dearborn County Jail.
Family killed: Decorated Army veteran Walter Bryant Jr, 78 (left), and his daughter Faith Craig, 58 (right), were found slain inside a home in Aurora, Indiana, on January 19
Deputies performing a welfare check at the request of family members discovered the father and daughter’s lifeless bodies in Aurora
Booth has been arrested nearly a dozen times since 2011, mostly on drug possession and probation violation charges.
In April 2015, he was convicted in Kentucky of felony heroin possession and was sentenced to three years, but absconded.
Thompson’s record includes an arrest in January 2010 for vehicular violations, including driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The following day, authorities near London, Kentucky, arrested Booth and Thompson.
According to local reports, Bryant was a retired master sergeant in the US Army who had served in the military for 21 years, completing tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam.
He had been awarded two Purple Hearts for injuries he sustained in Vietnam, having been wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade blast and getting stabbed with a bayonet. His other combat awards include three Bronze Stars, reported WLWT.
Police say Booth and Thompson allegedly stabbed Craig, and stabbed and bludgeoned her elderly father
Both boyfriend and girlfriend have a history of run-ins with the law
Hero and his daughter: Bryant (left) had been awarded two Purple Hearts for injuries he sustained in Vietnam. Craig (right) worked as a nurse and was married
‘I’m telling you Walt Bryant was a true American hero, a true American Patriot,’ friend P.G. Gentrup told Fox 19.
Bryant lost his wife of 56 years, Betty, in February 2010. The couple’s daughter, Faith Craig, leaves behind her husband and their pet dog, Billy Jack.
Her sister-in-law, Christine Craig, told the station WCPO that Faith worked as a nurse.
‘She really just gave everything she had to her friends and her family, the people that she loved,’ said the relative, adding that their family were still trying to process what happened.
According to a GoFundMe campaign, Faith’s widower, Dan Craig, is disabled and unable to work, and needs assistance paying for his wife’s funeral. As of Monday afternoon, over $2,200 has been raised.