Investigators say detailed plans, text messages and weapons turned a minor case into a major criminal investigation.
A routine reckless driving call in Stafford County, Virginia, unraveled a months-in-the-making murder conspiracy last week when deputies tracking a hit-and-run suspect found not just stolen food and alcohol in the car, but a notebook laying out two separate plans to kill a teenager’s parents.
Louis Conely, 19, of Stafford, and an unnamed 17-year-old were arrested the evening of June 16 after the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a vehicle that veered off the road near Austin Ridge Drive and Cabinet Maker Drive, struck a speed limit sign, and drove away. Deputies did not locate the car during their initial response, but patrol units found it later that night parked outside a Wawa on Garrisonville Road with both suspects inside.
A search of the vehicle turned up opened alcoholic beverages, multiple knives, medical supplies, and a tray of food from a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings on the dashboard. Security footage from the Wawa confirmed the pair had stolen alcohol from the store, and both admitted to taking the food from the restaurant. Those offenses were quickly overshadowed by what else deputies found: a notebook belonging to Conely that outlined two detailed murder plots targeting the 17-year-old’s family.
According to charging documents, the planning had been underway since at least April. Text messages recovered by investigators show the two discussed killing the 17-year-old’s parents inside their home, weighing the pros and cons of shooting them versus slitting their throats, and mapping out how to avoid detection by household security cameras. One version of the plan involved killing only one parent and framing the other for the death. The juvenile, according to investigators, insisted that both parents had to die. A subsequent search of the 17-year-old’s bedroom turned up multiple BB guns, edged weapons, and archery equipment.
“It was a detailed murder plot,” Jackson Arnold, a spokesperson for the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement. “Our detectives immediately jumped into action and began investigating.” Authorities have not disclosed a motive, and the nature of Conely’s relationship with the juvenile has not been made public.
Conely faces more than 10 charges, including two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of felony threats in writing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance, hit-and-run, reckless driving, and several counts related to the thefts and underage drinking. In a motion requesting bail, Conely’s parents described their child as “gentle, creative, passionate, intellectually curious and musically engaged.” The court denied bond, and Conely remains held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. The juvenile was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of felony threats in writing, and is being held at the Rappahannock Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
The investigation is ongoing.
