On November 10, 1990, James ’J.B.’ Baxter Wiseman II and his wife, Kathy Wiseman, were killed by close-range shotgun blasts in their Piankatank Shores home in Hartfield, Middlesex County, Virginia. The couple’s 15-year-old daughter, Jessica Wiseman, and her 17-year-old boyfriend, Douglas Christopher Thomas, were arrested that same day after an investigation tied them to a planned attack motivated by the parents’ disapproval of the relationship.

According to reports, Thomas entered the home in the early morning and fatally shot J.B. as he slept, then shot Kathy. Kathy managed to stumble to her daughter’s bedroom before Thomas, at Jessica’s urging, shot her again, causing her death. Jessica then ran to a neighbor’s house pretending to report the incident. Thomas confessed and was charged in adult court; Jessica was tried as a juvenile and convicted on two counts of first-degree murder.

The case prompted public attention because of the perpetrators’ ages and the family dynamics that led to the killings. Does anyone have memories of the Piankatank Shores community at the time or other information about the investigation?