Brutally assaulting their parents was Plan B for two Snellville brothers who were determined to kill them, says Gwinnett County’s top prosecutor.
Before Saturday morning's attack, Christopher and Cameron Ervin cut a gas line, drugged their parents with Xanax, placed a candle in their fireplace and waited outside two hours, ostensibly for an explosion that never happened, Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday.
But they weren’t deterred. Prosecutors say they headed back inside, beat their mother, Yvonne Ervin, with a rifle and repeatedly stabbed their father. More precisely, 17-year-old Cameron plunged the knife into his father, Zachary Ervin, “assisted” by 22-year-old Christopher, according to arrest warrants.
Lawyer Mark Yun, appointed by the court to represent Cameron Ervin, would not comment except to say, “More will come to light as the case progresses.” Christopher Ervin is represented by John Clegg, co-counsel for Andrea Sneiderman in the Dunwoody day care murder case. Clegg declined to comment.
Motive may never be known and, Porter said, producing one won’t matter in the prosecution of this case.
Yvonne Ervin speculated what may have driven her sons in a frantic 911 call Saturday morning
“I guess they have something, they want the insurance money, I’m not sure,” she said.
The brothers hinted at a radically different motive, telling investigators about a “bad home life,” said Porter, adding that no such evidence has surfaced.
Their half-sister, Twanda Wadlington, who lives in Memphis, spoke highly of her father last month in a Facebook post marking Zachary Ervin’s 50th birthday.
“Brilliance redefined, strength guaranteed and reliability unparalleled,” she wrote. “Today is the right time for me to say, how grateful I am to you for always showing me the way.”
The evidence against Wadlington’s siblings appears damning — including Cameron’s admission to officers after his arrest Saturday morning: “I tried to kill my [expletive] parents!”
The brothers, graduates of Shiloh High School, are charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault for each along two felony counts of first degree arson. according to Long. Seventeen-year-old Cameron is considered an adult under Georgia law.
Those who know them are baffled as to why these seemingly All-American guys who've never been in trouble with law enforcement would plot such a heinous crime.
Investigators say they intend to prove the brothers were “in 100 percent cahoots,” according to Gwinnett Police Cpl. Deon Washington.
Yvonne Ervin returned home on Monday and her husband was expected to released from the hospital sometime Thursday.
It’s not known whether the couple will attend Friday’s 1:30 p.m. probable cause hearing at the Gwinnett County Detention
Center.
About the Author
