A 76-year-old man is under arrest after allegedly shooting his wife and adult daughter during a dispute in a home on Wiltshire Drive in East Marlborough Township early in the evening of April 25.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office and the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop J Avondale Barracks, announced the arrest of Roger Hanks, 76. He faces charges of two counts of murder of the first degree and other related charges. 

Magisterial District Judge Albert Iacocca arraigned the defendant on Friday, and Hanks is being held at the Chester County Prison without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 8.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the Pennsylvania State Police, troopers were dispatched to a residence following the report of a shooting. When police arrived, Hanks was directed out of his house through the garage and then arrested. Inside the home, troopers found two unresponsive victims with gunshot wounds laying on the ground. Emergency life-saving measures were administered, but they were unsuccessful.

District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said, “The defendant senselessly shot and killed his family because of a basic dispute. It is unfathomable that anyone would react this way. I want to thank the Pennsylvania State Police who acted quickly and arrested the defendant after being dispatched to the scene.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei is the assigned prosecutor. Law enforcement officials said that tt appears to be an isolated incident and the police do not believe there was a threat to the general public.

If you believe you have information about this incident, please contact the Pennsylvania State Police Avondale at 610-268-2022.