New Information on Quadruple Homicide Case

The following information is from Richmond Times Dispatch reports:The latest information from the Times Dispatch can be found on their website:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/FARM041_20091104-001202/303559/

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Details related to the quadruple homicide in Farmville emerged today, including a description of two weapons believed to have been used in the killings.

Also today, a young California man who recorded violent rap music using the name "Syko Sam" has been indicted on six counts of capital murder for the slayings of four people found dead Sept. 18 in the home of a Longwood University professor.

Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III of Castro Valley, Calif., was indicted on six counts of capital murder for the slayings of four people in the Farmville home. McCroskey also faces a charge of grand larceny that accuses him of stealing a car that belonged to one of the victims.

Indictments in the case were returned Oct. 19 but were not unsealed until today, when they were served on McCroskey.

Found bludgeoned to death inside the home Sept. 18 were Longwood University professor Debra S. Kelley, 53, who lived there; her estranged husband, Mark Niederbrock, 50; their daughter, Emma Niederbrock, 16; and a friend from Inwood, W.Va., Melanie Wells, 18.

Investigators recovered several possible weapons, including a ball-peen hammer and a wood-splitting maul, according to the court papers unsealed today. Authorities believe both the hammer and the maul were used on each of the victims, according to a source close to the investigation.

A maul is a tool with a long handle with a head like an ax on one side and a hammer on the other. All four victims were bludgeoned beyond recognition, the source said, adding that the bodies were not dismembered.

Among the other items taken from the home were a meat cleaver and a knife, but authorities do not believe either was used in the killings, the source said.

Three of the four bodies were found in a downstairs bedroom, the source and court documents said. The other was found in a room upstairs. Authorities believe it is plausible that one or more of the victims might have been attacked while asleep, but they don't know that for sure, the source said. McCroskey has given no statement to police.

Authorities also might never know on what day the three female victims died. Investigators believe Mark Niederbrock was killed after the other three. Charging documents say he died Thursday, Sept. 17, the day before the bodies were found.

At least 98 items were recovered from Kelley's home, including sketchbooks, a note to Wells found on a kitchen table and electronic equipment. Documents also show items seized from Niederbrock's stolen car and from a satchel McCroskey had with him when he was arrested Sept. 19 at Richmond International Airport.

Investigators also have sought to search various electronic devices for images, text or other useful evidence. According to an affidavit for a search warrant, investigators were seeking to determine whether the suspect had documented his activities while at Kelley's home using a computer, cell phone or video camera.
McCroskey, 20, met Emma Niederbrock online through their interest in horrorcore rap music and flew to Virginia on Sept. 6 to meet her for the first time.

In Virginia capital murder is not a single crime. For example, a person can be charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to death for capital murder in the furtherance of terrorism as well as capital murder for committing more than one murder.

The indictments charge McCroskey with six counts of capital murder because he is alleged to have killed multiple people within three years.

His next court date is Jan. 19, when a trial date is scheduled to be set.