Curtis Atkinson Jr. (mug shot via Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office; scene screengrab via WJZY)
A man who stabbed his parents to death before kidnapping his own niece, who was reportedly forced to witness the murders, will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Curis Atkinson Jr., 43, was convicted Thursday in North Carolina of the 2017 murder of his parents Ruby and Curtis Atkinson Sr. According to prosecutors, Atkinson, along with his girlfriend Nikkia Cooper, knifed the older couple to death on March 30, 2017, with Atkinson stabbing his father a reported 69 times.
Atkinson and Cooper had gone to his parents’ home after being evicted from their own residence earlier that day, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release Thursday.
“After an argument between the parties, the defendant and Cooper killed the defendant’s parents,” the press release said. “The defendant’s niece was present in the home at the time.”
Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC reported that the niece, who was 11 years old at the time, was forced to watch the slayings.
The defendants didn’t flee immediately, instead remaining in the home with the corpses for days.
Atkinson and Cooper “stayed in the house with the defendant’s niece until April 2, 2017, when they kidnapped the niece and fled to Washington, D.C.,” the press release said. “There, they were apprehended that night and the niece was rescued by officers with the Metropolitan Police Department.”
According to local Fox affiliate WJZY, Atkinson tried to offer police in Washington his niece for ransom.
The gruesome scene was discovered after firefighters were called to the house for a fire alarm after the couple had fled with the child, local CBS affiliate WBTV reported. Ruby Atkinson had reportedly suffered gunshot wounds to her neck and head, in addition to 17 stab or puncture wounds to her upper body, WBTV reported. Curtis Atkinson reportedly had broken teeth and his body was decomposing by the time he was found.
Atkinson was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Superior Court Judge Karen Eady-Williams sentenced Atkinson to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders. She handed down an additional 404 to 532 months for the remaining charges.
Cooper pleaded guilty in 2019 to two counts of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 45-56 years behind bars — 270 to 336 months for each murder charge, served consecutively, WBTV reported. She was also ordered to serve a concurrent sentence of 80 to 108 months for robbery
More from Law&Crime: Son getting kicked out of mother’s home says ‘you’re dead to me’ then ‘did execution shots’ on her and stepfather: Police
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