North Carolina Man Convicted of Murdering Parents Hours After Moving Back Home

A 43-year-old North Carolina man, Curtis Atkinson Jr., was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for murdering his parents several years earlier.

According to a statement from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office, Atkinson and his girlfriend, Nikka Cooper, "killed his parents, kidnapped his 11-year-old niece, and fled to Washington DC in 2017."

On March 30, 2017, Atkinson and Cooper were evicted from their own home. Later that same day, they moved in with Atkinson's parents, Curtis Atkinson Sr. and Ruby Atkinson, in their East Charlotte residence. According to the District Attorney's Office, "the parents were killed after arguing with their son and his girlfriend."

Prosecutors revealed that Atkinson both shot and stabbed his parents."He stabbed his father 69 times while his 11-year-old niece watched," the Charlotte Observer reported.

After allegedly committing the murders, Atkinson and Cooper "covered his dead parents with blankets and rugs and left them for days in the house before the police discovered their bodies," according to prosecutors. A fire alarm inside the residence eventually led the police to the Atkinsons' home.

On April 2, 2017, the 43-year-old "kidnapped his niece and escaped with his girlfriend to Washington DC," as per the statement from the District Attorney's Office. The niece was later found that same night after Atkinson "crashed his car near the Washington Monument during a police chase," according to the Charlotte Observer.

Cooper accepted a plea deal in 2019, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. She is currently serving a 56-year sentence at Anson Correctional Institution.

A jury found Atkinson guilty of murder, kidnapping, and other offenses after a trial that began on July 31 and concluded on Thursday. Judge Eady-Williams sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

This sentence came after prosecutors "dropped a capital murder charge against him in 2022," which would have warranted a death penalty if he had been convicted, as previously reported by the Associated Press.