On September 15, 1987, in Naola, Virginia, 43-year-old Douglas McArthur Buchanan Sr. was killed in a family attack that left four people dead. The case centers on his son, Douglas McArthur Buchanan Jr., who reportedly entered the family home armed with a rifle, a pistol and a knife after an argument in which his deceased mother was insulted. Buchanan Sr. was shot in the back of the head and between the eyes.

Two of Buchanan Jr.’s half-brothers, 13-year-old Joel and 10-year-old Donnie, were also shot; one of the boys was later stabbed multiple times after getting up. The family’s 31-year-old stepmother, Geraldine Patterson Buchanan, survived a misfired pistol shot, sustained a grazing wound to the head from a second shot and was stabbed repeatedly.

Douglas Jr. and his wife, Christianne Marie Buchanan, fled the state and were apprehended 17 days later in New Mexico. Douglas Jr. confessed, saying years of mistreatment motivated him. He was tried for capital murder; Christianne was convicted of conspiring and being an accessory to the killings. Does anyone have additional information about the family or the events leading up to that day?