Republished January 29, 2018 - 3:09 PM
Original Publication Date January 29, 2018 - 11:51 AM
WILLIAMSVILLE, Mo. - A Missouri man was charged Monday with three counts of first-degree murder and other crimes after a toddler and her parents were killed in rural southeast Missouri.
Authorities identified the victims as Samara Fontaine Kitts, 23, her 24-year-old boyfriend Harley Michael Million, and their 17-month-old daughter Willa Fontaine Million.
Drew Atchison, 24, of Williamsville, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, armed criminal action and child kidnapping. He is jailed and does not yet have a listed attorney.
Court documents obtained by KFVS-TV said Atchison confessed to the killings. The documents listed no motive.
Deputies said in the court documents that Atchison fatally stabbed the adults Thursday at their home in Wayne County. He allegedly put the bodies in the back of Million's truck and left the child alone overnight, locking her in a room with dogs.
On Friday, according to court documents, Atchison returned to the home, destroyed evidence, then took the child as he drove Million's truck to neighbouring Butler County. The documents said he threw the knife used in the killings in the woods.
Atchison fatally shot the child and buried her with her parents beneath blankets and trash, the court document said. The bodies were found Monday, a day after relatives alerted police that the family had not been seen for several days.
A relative of the victims said in a statement that Kitts and Million weren't married but had been together for eight years and were "amazing parents to Willa."
Wayne County is about 140 miles southwest of St. Louis.
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Information from: KFVS-TV, http://www.kfvs12.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2018