KEY POINTS

  • The victims were found dead at their home
  • Ryan True was charged with two counts of murder
  • He admitted that he stabbed his father after an altercation with him

A Massachusetts man accused of stabbing his parents to death has been ordered to be held without bail. A court also ruled that he has to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Ryan True, 21, was arrested Thursday, in connection with the deaths of his parents, Renee True and David True. He was charged with two counts of murder for stabbing his parents to death.

Ryan was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a mental health evaluation after appearing in the Wareham District Court on Friday.

Ryan's half-brother told investigators that the accused was diagnosed with autism when he was a child. He was also prescribed lithium, commonly used for treating bipolar disorder, which he had refused to take, reported New York Daily News.

Middleboro police chief Joseph Perkins said the couple was found dead during a wellness check at their home on Thursday, reported local news outlet NBC Boston.

knife
True admitted that he had an altercation with his father and stabbed him with a pocket knife. pixabay

A co-worker alerted police after David did not show up at work on Wednesday. The police forced entry into the home and found their bodies covered with a blanket.

Ryan had called his half-brother that day telling him that "things went bad" at home. He said "he was the only one who left the house alive," prosecutors told the court.

During a police interrogation, Ryan admitted that he had an altercation with his father on Wednesday and stabbed him using his pocket knife in self-defense. He claimed his father was drunk and he "did what he had to do." He said he also stabbed his mother when she returned home from work. Ryan also suffered stab wounds when he accidentally struck himself with the knife.

Ryan reportedly left the house in his mother's car after the incident. He was sitting in the car, not far from the house, when detectives spotted him and convinced him to return home. He was taken into custody after that.

"This is a tragic and horrifying situation for, obviously, the family of the deceased and also here in the town of Middleboro," Timothy Cruz, Plymouth County District Attorney, said.

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