Woman charged with killing and dismembering her parents in their Montco home
Verity Beck is accused of fatally shooting her parents in the Jenkintown section of Abington.
Montgomery County authorities have charged a woman with killing her parents after police discovered their dismembered bodies in their home.
Verity Beck, 43, of Rydal, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of her 72-year-old mother and 73-year-old father, Miriam and Reid Beck.
Police were called to the couple’s home on the 1100 block of Beverly Road in the Jenkintown section of Abington Township after their son contacted police Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint. He told officers that he had visited the home earlier in the day because he hadn’t heard from his parents, and saw what appeared to be a dead body covered in a bloody sheet when he arrived.
Authorities said that he spoke to his sister, who also lives in the home, for about half an hour. She allegedly told him that things at home had “been bad,” and that she needed “more time” to contact police. The man then returned to his own home and called 911.
Police later arrived at the house, and inside, they found a body wrapped in a white sheet, as well as evidence of a second deceased person, the complaint said. The bodies were in “different stages of dismemberment,” and there was “evidence that a chainsaw had been used,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said.
Police also found Verity Beck in the home. According to the complaint, an officer asked her where her parents were, and she replied, “They are dead.”
A forensic pathologist later determined that each victim was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. Police believe that the couple may have been killed as far back as Jan. 7, the last time family members had voice contact with them.
“The daughter may have had access to their phones, and may have been texting on their behalf,” Steele said.
Authorities have not determined a motive for the killings. According to the criminal complaint, detectives found a large safe in the home that had drill marks on it, indicating that “someone, without a key or combination, had been attempting to access the safe.”
Verity Beck is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.