A 23-year-old woman suspected of killing her three older roommates in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, earlier this week was taken into custody following a high-speed chase and cash on a New York highway Thursday.
Alyssa Jane Venable, of Spotsylvania, is charged with three counts of second-degree murder and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The bodies of her three roommates, all in their 60s and 70s, were found in the home they shared in Spotsylvania County on Tuesday.
Venable, who was on the run for nearly two days, was arrested about 5:45 p.m. Thursday, after troopers with the New York State Police spotted a gray Honda Civic she was known to drive on Interstate 86 in Steuben County, New York — about 270 miles away from the crime scene.
The sheriff’s office said Venable refused to pull over and attempted to speed off, with police pursuing her. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph before troopers deployed a device to deflate her tires, causing Venable’s car to crash.
She was taken to the hospital as a precaution, authorities said, ahead of an expected extradition back to Virginia.
The bodies of Venable’s three roommates were discovered about 10 p.m. Tuesday when deputies were called to a home in the 10500 block of White Street Court in Fredericksburg for a welfare check. Once inside, deputies found the bodies of three people — two men and a woman — suffering what authorities called upper-body trauma.
They were identified as Robert John McGuire, 77; Gregory Scott Powell, 60; and Carol Anne Reese, 65.
“After further investigation and evidence collection, it was discovered that a roommate had committed this heinous crime,” the sheriff’s office said, referring to Venable.
Detectives are still investigating what led up to the killings and are actively pursuing leads.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office at 540-582-7115.
Authorities initially said they were withholding certain aspects of the killing “so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.
WTOP’s Ciara Wells contributed to this report.
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