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Police have charged a Manassas-area man with double murder in the Sunday shooting deaths of a couple who rented the basement of his home.
The murders appear to have stemmed from a domestic dispute the day before between the suspect, identified as 49-year-old Amandeep Singh, and members of his family who lived in the house in the 8900 block of Hanson Grove Court, Prince William County police Lt. Jonathan Perok said in a news release.
The victims, Joshua Lee Davis and Nicole Wanda Lynn Davis, both 45 and married, rented the basement and knew the family members living above, but they did not appear to have any involvement in the domestic dispute before the shootings, Perok said.
Police discovered the bodies during a welfare check on Oct. 13 about 2:40 a.m. after receiving information from police in New Jersey “following an incident at a family member’s home in that area,” Perok said.
“During their investigation, information was obtained prompting possible concern for residents at the home on Hanson Grove Court in Prince William County,” Perok said in a release.
Officers arrived to find the door unlocked and the couple in the basement dead from gunshot wounds. Singh’s family members who also lived in the house “were located and found to be safe,” Perok said.
Detectives then learned a violent domestic dispute occurred at the home on Oct. 12. That incident went unreported to police, Perok said.
According to Perok, Singh held two of his family members, a 50-year-old woman and a 53-year-old woman, at gunpoint inside a bedroom.
At one point, he allegedly fired a shot near the women, but neither was hit.
He also struck one of the women while holding the firearm “before placing his hands around the neck of the other family member,” Perok said.
The women eventually got away and left the house.
“At some point following the domestic encounter, the accused shot and killed the two victims in the basement before leaving the home and driving to New Jersey in an attempt to locate his family,” Perok said.
While in New Jersey, Singh encountered other uninvolved family members, prompting police in that area to be notified and Singh to be detained, according to Perok.
On Tuesday, Prince William County police obtained warrants charging Singh with two counts of murder, four counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of abduction, one count of strangulation, one count of domestic assault and battery and two counts of discharging a firearm within an occupied dwelling, Perok said.
Singh remains in custody in Burlington County, New Jersey, pending extradition.
Detectives are still trying to determine what led up to the fatal shooting and would like to speak with anyone who has information to aid the investigation.