On February 1, 2008, in Cockeysville, Maryland, 11-year-old Benjamin Browning was shot and killed in his sleep along with his mother, Tamara, 44; his father, John, 45; and his 13-year-old brother, Gregory. The killings were carried out inside the family home by Benjamin’s older brother, Nicholas Waggoner Browning, then 15. Investigators say Nicholas returned to the house in the middle of the night after leaving a friend’s home, used his father’s handgun and went from room to room shooting each sleeping family member in the head, then discarded the weapon in nearby bushes before spending the next day with friends.

Nicholas was arrested on February 3, 2008, after confessing and was charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors argued the motive involved a desire to be free of parental rules and to avoid sharing an inheritance; the defense and some family members cited alleged abuse by the father. In January 2009 Nicholas pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and received four life terms, with two consecutive; a 2014 request for a reduced sentence was denied and he may be eligible for parole in 2031.

Did anyone in Cockeysville remember signs of trouble in the Browning household before February 2008?