COPPERAS COVE, Texas — A Texas man accused of killing his wife and two children over the weekend was found lying next to their bodies, covered in blood, according to authorities.
Bryan Richardson, 27, of Copperas Cove, is charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, identified by police as Kiera Michelle Ware, and their two young children, whose names have not been released.
Copperas Cove police officials said officers were called around 9:32 p.m. Saturday to the family’s home in the 1300 block of Fairbanks Street for a welfare check. Court records obtained by KWTX in Waco indicate the officers met Ware’s brother outside the home.
A criminal complaint states that an officer followed the brother into the backyard of the home, where the brother shined his cellphone light into a window. They spotted a “dark liquid” on the floor, the document says.
One of the officers found an open bay window and climbed inside, unlocking the back door.
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The officers found a grisly scene in the house. There was a “large amount of blood on the kitchen and living room floors,” and a small dog lay dead in a pool of blood in the kitchen, KWTX reported.
They found a “a large pool of blood just outside the door” of a corner room, which was locked from the inside, the complaint states. The officers forced the door open and found Richardson, Ware and their two children on a bed inside.
Richardson, who was covered in blood, lay on top of Ware, the court documents state. The children’s bodies were on the bed next to them.
Their son was wrapped in a blanket and their daughter, who lay next to her brother, was covered with a comforter.
A bloody knife, an empty six-pack of beer and an empty bottle of the sedative Trazodone was on a table nearby.
When questioned, Richardson said he didn’t know what had happened to his family, KWTX reported. The officers found three cuts on Richardson’s left arm that he said were self-inflicted.
According to the court records, when Richardson was later asked if he was worried about losing his job, his wife or custody of his children, he responded, “I already lost all of those.”
Richardson’s Facebook page indicates that he worked at a GNC vitamin and nutrition shop. According to Ware’s page, the couple married in 2015.
Both pages are full of photos of their children.
KWTX reported that the couple’s son was a pre-K student at Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy in Copperas Cove.
Richardson is being held in lieu of bail set at $2.25 million.
Cox Media Group
