Teen indicted for murders of mom, brother in Fauquier County

Levi Norwood, 17, has been indicted by a Fauquier County grand jury on murder charges in the Feb. 14 shooting deaths of his mother and brother in their home in Midland, Virginia.

Charging documents say Levi Norwood told his girlfriend earlier that day, while at school, “that he wanted to kill his mother.” The girlfriend also said Norwood was depressed and anxious, and told her he was schizophrenic and would see “shadow people.”

However, before his indictment, a district court judge ruled Norwood was competent to stand trial.

Norwood is undergoing additional mental evaluations, which could determine whether he was sane at the time of the crime.

According to court records, Leviathan “Levi” Norwood was indicted Monday on several charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, for killing his mother, Jennifer Norwood, and 6-year-old brother Wyatt Norwood, and attempted murder, for shooting and wounding his father, Joshua Norwood.

Joshua Norwood told police that his son had been depressed and prescribed medication, and that “he and his wife had found text messages on Leviathan’s phone pertaining to committing suicide.”

Levi Norwood was also indicted on three counts for using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and grand theft of an automobile.

The teen is accused of shooting his family members, then fleeing in a stolen car to North Carolina, where he was caught.

In late April, Joshua Norwood was found dead in the family home. At the time, Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office had said there was no indication of foul play.

Before the indictment, Levi Norwood’s case had been handled in the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations General District Court, where proceedings had largely been closed to the public.

Neal Augenstein

Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.

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