An Alabama man accused of decapitating his grandmother and aunt with a chainsaw grinned broadly in his booking photo after police arrested him at the bloody scene.
Thomas Steele, 47, faces two counts of murder in the deaths of Dora Boone, 85, and Christy Deloach, 65, whose headless bodies were discovered Monday inside their four-bedroom home in Mobile, according to a court complaint obtained by NBC 15.
Steele was allegedly waiting outside the residence when officers arrived roughly two and a half hours after his aunt’s desperate 911 call, FOX 10 reported.
In that call, placed around 11 a.m. Monday, Deloach told a dispatcher her nephew had stopped taking his psychiatric medication and was behaving erratically.
“[He’s] off his medication for Lithium and I’m not sure who to call or contact. He gave away his phone…and giving his car away. Um, he’s doing some bizarre things,” she said in the call, as cited by the station.
When the operator asked whether she needed emergency assistance, Deloach sought to downplay the situation despite her concern.
“It’s in his mind. He’s following God,” she said of Steele, who she noted is bipolar. “He’s calm! He’s not violent or anything. So, I guess I’ll just let it play itself out.”
Police responded to the home at approximately 1:30 p.m. And found both women dead, decapitated with a chainsaw, according to the Mobile Police Department and FOX 10.
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood addressed the killings at a court hearing Tuesday, outlining what investigators believe about Steele’s living situation.
“What we know is or what we believe is that he lived at this residence with these family members when they were both killed,” he said, according to NBC 15.
The case has drawn national attention due to the shocking nature of the crime and Steele’s unsettling demeanor in his mugshot, where he displayed a wide, toothy smile despite the gruesome allegations against him.
The double homicide has left the Mobile community reeling as details emerge about the family’s final hours and the warning signs that preceded the violence.
Steele’s decision to discontinue his Lithium, a mood stabilizer commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder, appeared to trigger the alarming behavioral changes that prompted his aunt’s call for help just hours before she became his alleged second victim.
Authorities have not disclosed additional details about what transpired between the 911 call and police arrival, or what motivated Steele to allegedly turn a chainsaw on the two women who shared his home.
Steele is expected to appear in court as the case proceeds through the Mobile County justice system.