Years before Calvin Ray Jr. allegedly killed his parents with samurai swords, DeKalb SWAT units were called to the couple’s Pheasant Drive home.
After an aggravated assault incident in 2007, Ray fled to the home and held police at bay for hours, according to Channel 2 Action News.
“His parents were being held hostage,” neighbor Dorothy Watkins told the television station. “Pretty much the entire afternoon everything was touch and go.”
Police returned to the same home Thursday and discovered “a pretty horrific scene inside,” DeKalb police Chief Cedric Alexander told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A family member stopped by to visit around 4 p.m. and found the couple dead, he said. The two, a 75-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman, may have been dead for several hours, Alexander said.
“One of the family members came home, and when she came inside the house, she saw the two victims lying in the bedroom,” he said.
The victims’ names were not released, pending notification of other family members.
Ray, 39, allegedly left the home in a family vehicle, and police issued a lookout on the vehicle, Alexander said.
Ray was later taken into custody without incident at nearby Chapel Hill Park, according to police. The swords were found inside the home, Alexander said.
Ray has a criminal record and is a convicted felon, according to the state Department of Corrections. He was released from state prison in December 2011 after 20 months following a conviction on aggravated assault and weapon charges, records show.
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