Police: Teen born in Russia kills Crowley adoptive parents
CROWLEY, Texas - Crowley police say a teenager born in Russia is responsible for murdering his adoptive parents.
FOX 4 also learned the teen was expelled from a Christian academy because the school said it wasn't ready to deal with his "demons."
Carl Brewer, 17, is charged with two counts of murder and remains in jail. Police said he killed Troy Brewer, 60, and Mary Brewer, 64, in their Crowley home.
Crowley police say an anonymous caller called police on Tuesday from a gas station and said he'd been smoking marijuana with Carl.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher asked.
"I was smoking with someone, and they told me that they killed their parents. And I don't know if it's true or not," the anonymous caller said.
Police then went to Carl's home to make a welfare check and noticed the "faint odor of death" at the front door. Officers were able to see inside the home through windows and saw evidence of a possible struggle.
Once police made their way inside, they found Carl's adoptive mother and father shot multiple times. There were signs of a struggle and that someone had tried to clean up the blood in the house.
When police were inside, they heard footsteps upstairs. A standoff then happened overnight into Wednesday until about 7 a.m. Police wound up calling out the SWAT team and using tear gas to finally arrest Carl.
Carl attended Nazarene Christian Academy for two years before being expelled at the start of his freshman year.
"Even someone that their life might be disrupted in some different way, you don't expect them to do this," said Senior Pastor C.B. Glidden, Carl's former teacher. "He wasn't bad all the time, but he did have some times when he acted out. Stuff that interrupted classes."
Pastor Chuck Bernal visited the 17-year-old in jail on Tuesday. He said Carl had stopped going to Life Pointe Church with his mother about two years ago.
"His overall demeanor was such that he has a huge sense of remorse and regret about everything he did," the pastor said. "He didn't say the words."
Police said Thursday there were 16 calls made to authorities in the past from the home since 2010.
In the search warrant affidavit, a detective noted that Mary had reported two handguns were missing from the home and that there was no forced entry. Police have not said if either of those weapons was the ones used to kill the parents.
The Brewers had two adopted children from Russia and one biological son. Carl was the only one still living with Troy and Mary.