Elderly Couple Fatally Stabbed By Son: Prosecutors

CHICAGO, IL — A West Side man is accused of fatally stabbing his elderly parents over the weekend in the North Austin neighborhood, according to Chicago police. Dexter Barnes, 47, was charged with two counts of felony first-degree murder in Sunday's killings, and he was ordered held without bail Tuesday.

Johnnie Ervin, 73, and Shirley Ervin, 69, were found stabbed multiple times after officers responded to a call at around 1:18 am. Sunday, June 18, in the 1400 block of North Leclaire Avenue, police said in a statement released Tuesday. In court Tuesday, prosecutors said it was Barnes' brother who discovered the horrific scene after checking on his parents at home, according to the Chicago Tribune. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for the West Side and Chicago — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

When he arrived at the apartment, he found his parents' bodies surrounded by a dozen knives on the kitchen floor, the report stated. Johnnie Ervin — who police originally said was 67 — had been disemboweled and stabbed 11 times, while Shirley Ervin, who was stabbed in the chest, had her dress hiked up and her adult diaper pulled down, according to the report. Paper towel and mops also were found by the couple's bodies, and police believe the killer tried to clean the crime scene, the report added.

A witness identified Barnes to police after seeing him flee his parent's building shortly after his brother's grisly discovery, according to the Tribune. Barnes had cuts on his hand, his clothes were bloody, and he was carrying his dad's wallet when officersapprehended him, the report added.

Originally, Barnes told investigators that his cuts came from a fight with his brother, the report stated. But prosecutors claim he later changed his story and told police his injuries were the result of defending himself against his parents, who had attacked him, the report added.

Barnes is no stranger to criminal violence, and an order of protection filed by his mother had expired in November, according to the Tribune. He also is on probation for an aggravated battery conviction for spitting on a nurse who was treating him for a bee sting, the report added.

More via the Chicago Tribune

UPDATED (5:04 a.m. Wednesday, June 21)

Dexter Barnes, 47 (Photo via the Chicago Police Department)

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