Six Family Members Killed In East Texas Camping Attack

Six family members, including a 6-year-old, were killed over the weekend while camping in eastern Texas, and a suspect in their deaths is in custody, Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor announced at a press conference Monday.

Two bodies were found Sunday morning in Tennessee Colony, and four more were found in a lake Monday afternoon, Taylor told reporters, according to the Sun-Journal. Two of the victims appeared to have been shot; the cause of death for the others was unknown pending autopsies.

Cynthia Johnson, the seventh member of the camping party and sole survivor, hid in the woods but was eventually able to call 9-1-1 from a main road, the Sun-Journal reported.

William Mitchell Hudson, who lives on adjacent property, was arrested on one count of murder and held on $2.5 million bond, Taylor said, though he expects Hudson will eventually face more charges.

Hudson has no known relationship to the family and isn’t cooperating with police, Taylor said, adding that a motive is unclear.

“We handled him for assault within the last few weeks,” Taylor told reporters. “He was violent, but it wasn’t of this nature.”

Cynthia’s 77-year-old husband Carl and his daughter, Hannah, were the first two initially found dead, the Sun-Journal reported. Hannah’s boyfriend Thomas Kamp, Hannah’s 6-year-old daughter and Kamp’s two oldest children were the four recovered from a nearby lake.

They were camping on Hannah Johnson and Kamp’s property, Taylor said.

• Read the full story at the Sun-Journal here.

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