Iowa police: Blood-covered teen said he killed his parents

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police in Cedar Rapids have arrested a teenage boy on suspicion of slashing his parents to death after officers found the blood-covered teen sitting outside the family home early Thursday morning.

Police said they received a call around 2 a.m. Thursday about a suspicious person at the home, and when officers arrived they found 17-year-old Ethan Alexander Orton outside. He was covered in blood, and he told officers he had killed his mother and father.

Police then found the bodies of Casey Orton, 42, and Misty Scott Slade, 41, inside. The teen reportedly told officers he used a knife to stab them both, but later used an ax on his mother when it appeared she had survived the initial attack. The teen reportedly told police he killed his parents to “take charge of his life,” according to a criminal complaint.

The teen faces two counts of first-degree murder and will be prosecuted as an adult, the Linn County Attorney’s Office said.