Top inset: Charles Broomfield (Kent County Jail). Bottom insets, from left: Jacqueline Neill, Cameron Kilpatrick and Michael Kilpatrick (WXMI). Background: Police investigate triple homicide in Grand Rapids, Michigan (WOOD).
A man murdered his fiancee and her two sons inside a Michigan home and made up a story about how the victims were killed during a home invasion, cops say.
Charles Broomfield, 44, is accused of killing his fiancee Jacqueline Neill and her two sons, Cameron Kilpatrick, 15, and Michael Kilpatrick, 13.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Broomfield called Grand Rapids police around 7:40 a.m. Tuesday to report a shooting in the 900 block of Worden Street SW. Dispatchers had a difficult time obtaining information from him because he was so hysterical.
Cops arrived at the home and rushed inside to find Broomfield standing next to Neill's body. By this time, cops noted the suspect was "calm and not upset." Police also found the two other victims dead inside their bedrooms. Officers asked Broomfield if there were any other people in the home and he said his 5-year-old son was in another upstairs bedroom. The 5-year-old was uninjured.
When asked what happened, Broomfield allegedly concocted a story about a home invasion. Per the complaint, Broomfield said he was walking upstairs when he heard two armed men barge into the home and confront Neill. He said he ran to his bedroom to grab his gun but one of the home invaders grabbed the weapon before he could get to it. That's when he claimed he heard gunshots coming from downstairs, where the teenage boys' bedrooms were located.
He said he called 911 after the suspects ran away.
But cops said they found several inconsistencies with Broomfield's story. Paramedics determined the victims had been dead for at least 40 minutes, which didn't match Broomfield's timeline. Investigators also found the gun that Broomfield said the home invasion suspects grabbed in his bedroom in an outside lockbox. There was only one set of footprints in the snow that led to and from the box, police stated. There was no indication that two people had entered the home as Broomfield suggested, cops said.
Detectives found the key to the gun box on Broomfield's lanyard with a tag labeled "#1 Dad," the affidavit said. A ballistics test confirmed that it was the gun used in the slayings, officers wrote.
After receiving his Miranda rights, Broomfield allegedly admitted he killed the three victims. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, among other charges.
The victims' family released a statement to local media.
"The tragic loss of our beloved Cameron & Michael Kilpatrick, and their mother, Jacqueline Neill, to a senseless act of violence has left our family utterly devastated," the statement said. "There are no words to adequately describe the heartbreak we feel over losing multiple family members."
Broomfield is in the Kent County Jail without a bond. His next court date is set for Feb. 10.