A former Pennsylvania special education teacher admitted to killing her parents and dismembering them with a chainsaw.
Verity Beck, 45, murdered her parents Reid and Miriam, aged 73 and 72, in January 2023 after an argument over money she had stolen from them.
Beck shot his parents in the head and threw parts of their bodies in trash cans after cutting them up. On Monday she was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the horrendous murders.
Verity pleaded guilty and was considered mentally ill during her stoic court appearance. In January, her lawyers argued that she was legally insane when she killed Reid and Miriam, but Judge William R. Carpenter rejected that idea.
“This is a dangerous person,” said Montgomery County Assistant Prosecutor Samantha Cauffman. The Philadelphia Investigator.
Verity Beck, 45, admitted in court to murdering and dismembering her parents on Monday.
“She was sane when she killed them, she knew what she did was wrong and she is going to pay for it the rest of her life.”
Carpenter agreed that Verity was mentally ill after the criminal psychiatrist evaluated the killer.
Although Verity declined to comment on the motives for her murder as she left the courtroom, text message exchanges between her and her parents, along with other evidence, revealed that her difficult financial situation caused her to lash out.
She told police she was $100,000 in debt. Her parents accused her of stealing a $600 rent check from a property they owned, as well as purchasing items on Amazon with Reid’s money, including a necklace worth more than $1,000.
Verity was escorted to her court hearing because she avoided answering questions about the murders.
Verity’s brother Justin knew something was wrong when he hadn’t seen or spoken to his parents for several days.
He had only received text messages, which he discovered Verity had sent posing as them.
When Justin finally went home to check on them, it was too late.
He passed by the house that same day and saw that all the lights were off. Justin then drove back to his own house to get soup for Verity, who complained to him about being sick.
When he later arrived at the house, he found Verity and a body covered in a bloody sheet.
Verity murdered her parents in their home in January 2023.
Verity told Justin that things at home had “been bad,” according to the 2023 criminal complaint. Investigators said she told Justin she needed “more time” when he said he had to call the police.
Justin left the house after talking to Verity and called the police. He knew his sister had a gun.
Police arrived shortly after and found the bodies of Reid and Miriam in a severely decomposed state.
They found a chainsaw and the house smelled horrible. A trash can inside a bedroom was filled with dismembered body parts.
Reid’s body was decapitated and wrapped in a duvet.
Verity pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Monday, so she will receive mental health care in prison
When the police entered the house, they asked Verity where her parents were. She allegedly responded, “They’re dead.”
Investigators said they found three guns with spent bullets, two registered and one unregistered, in Verity’s bedroom.
Verity’s lawyer, James Lyons, said NBC10: “While everyone in the family realized she had mental health problems, no one recognized the seriousness of the problem or how serious it had become.”
Lyons also told the outlet on Monday that Verity feels “remorseful” and is “a lot clearer now.”
Verity will receive mental health care while in prison. She will be held in the therapeutic wing instead of the maximum security area.
