The Vermont man accused of killing a mother and her son at their home in southern Vermont did so because he was fed up with his living situation, according to court documents.
Christopher Ellis was arrested on Saturday after police found him in a stolen pickup truck. He was charged with the murders of 79-year-old Lucy Garvin and her son, 52-year-old Michael Garvin. The pair had been found dead in their home on Route 8A in Whitingham Friday night by a relative who had been unable to contact them, investigators said.
Court documents show that Christopher Ellis admitted to police that he plotted for several weeks to kill the Garvins.
Ellis, who said he had known Michael Garvin for years, said the two met in prison. He moved into the Garvin home in April and said in that time, Lucy Garvin had falsely accused him of attempting sexual contact with her and also described the condition of the home as “gross.”
These factors, in addition to his growing hatred of Michael Garvin, contributed to Ellis’s decision to kill the pair, according to his testimony to police.
An affidavit details how Ellis explained to police how he went about obtaining the murder weapon as he continued to plot how he would execute the murder of Michael Garvin. He also explained that he would rather be in jail than in an “old folks home” because he has been thinking about how he is getting older and lacks a retirement plan.
Ellis described his actions as “calculated,” according to police. He told police that he committed the murders on either Wednesday or Thursday of the previous week and shot the pair with a .38 caliber revolver. Ellis said he then left the home and stole Michael Garvin’s truck so that he could obtain cocaine. He then traveled to Massachusetts, where he sold the firearm and purchased an additional amount of cocaine with the money.
Ellis was scheduled to appear in Windsor County Court this afternoon, but the court date was moved to Wednesday following a motion from his attorney.
If convicted, he faces two life sentences in prison with no possibility of parole.
Tell us your thoughts...