Herbert C. Bland Sr., 61, was killed in Dinwiddie, Virginia, on January 7, 2013. A longtime church and Masonic lodge member, husband, father and grandfather, Bland Sr. had earlier that day contacted the Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s Office to report a missing firearm and said he suspected his son had taken it. That same day his son, Herbert C. Bland Jr., allegedly drove from Chesterfield after two other shootings and a confrontation at the Bland family home ended with Bland Sr. shot in the head.

The investigation tied the incident to a wider spree that morning: the bodies of 42-year-old Elizabeth Fassett and her 65-year-old mother, Barbara Fassett, were found shot in the head at their River Road home in Chesterfield County. Bland Jr., who had a documented history of serious mental illness and prior violent incidents, faced first-degree murder and related firearm charges in the deaths of the Fassetts and was charged in connection with his father’s death. By October 2013 competency issues had been resolved and formal proceedings were underway.