According to the police officials, the 21-year-old man was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with murder. He is also facing burglary and weapons charges. Prosecutors say he is accused of murdering his 81-year-old grandfather with an axe. The 21-year-old suspect told investigators that God had ordered him to kill his grandfather. “He believed his grandfather was a monster and that God told him he would have to change his religion,” authorities say.
Officers responded to the victim’s, Ronald Vicari, home around 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday. Authorities say the 911 call was placed by one of the suspect’s relatives, who advised police that the suspect, Jason Vicari, was inside with a handgun.
The responding officers discovered that at least one person had barricaded themselves inside the home and a second person was believed to be injured. But, a short while after, the suspect came out of the house and turned himself in to law enforcement.
Police say that 10 minutes after he was arrested, the suspect allegedly said: “God told me to do it.” The responding officers entered the residence in New Jersey and they located the victim’s body on the floor in his bathroom. He was pronounced dead on the scene after suffering what appeared to be an axe wound to the head.
The suspect told authorities that ‘he was commanded by a higher power and believed his grandfather was a monster and that God told him he would have to change his religion.’
The suspect was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of first-degree felony murder, second-degree burglary, third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
This incident remains under investigation. This is a developing story and it will be updated as new information become available.