Inset left: Zion Savion Terry (Obituary). Inset middle: Levy Nelson (Richmond Police Department). Inset right: Sadie Mariah Terry (Obituary). Background: Authorities investigate the crime scene in Richmond, Va. (WTVR/YouTube).
A father in Virginia is headed for trial after authorities say he shot his girlfriend and killed her two children at their home.
Levy Nelson, 41, faces charges including two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of 18-year-old Zion Terry and 14-year-old Sadie Terry, the Richmond Police Department announced last spring.
He has been found competent to stand trial, Richmond NBC affiliate WWBT reported.
According to police, on April 21, Nelson, his girlfriend, and her two children were inside a home at the corner of Burns Street and 5th Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. The city is the capital of the commonwealth.
Sadie was reportedly Nelson's daughter.
The defendant is accused of shooting his girlfriend and the two children.
Police responded to the scene and rushed the three victims to a nearby hospital.
While the woman survived her injuries, her children did not.
A GoFundMe set up for her says their family was "facing a heartbreaking and unimaginable tragedy" as they "lost an 18-year-old young man who had his entire future ahead of him, and a 14-year-old young girl whose life was just beginning. No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain."
Nelson was not at the scene, and police asked for the community's help in finding him and his pickup truck. He was later arrested after a manhunt was launched.
Police had apparently never responded to that home for domestic violence before the killings. It is unclear what occurred immediately prior to the crimes.
Nelson is scheduled to go to trial on April 19, 2027.