Suspect in Murder of 3 Roommates Is Caught

Virginia police investigating the murder of three roommates in their home got some help apprehending the main suspect—another roommate—hundreds of miles to the north. New York state troopers spotted Alyssa J. Venable, 23, driving her Honda Civic and detained her after a high-speed chase roughly 100 miles from the Canadian border, reports the Washington Post. Venable has been charged with murder in the slayings of Robert John McGuire, 77; Gregory Scott Powell, 60, and Carol Anne Reese, 66, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, per CBS News.

The victims were found with "upper body trauma" when police conducted a welfare check at their residence, per NBC News. While authorities did not spell out how they were killed, Venable also is charged with using a firearm to commit a felony. As for a motive, the "investigation is ongoing and still in the early stages," says a statement from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office in Virginia. "We are withholding certain aspects of the incident." New York troopers laid a tire-puncturing device in the road that caused Venable's vehicle to crash after a chase that hit speeds of 100mph, and she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. (More Virginia stories.)