A woman told a judge that it was her intention to kill both her parents and dismember their bodies as a way to hide them. She plead guilty to the murders but also said she’s suffering from mental illness. NBC10’s Leah Uko shares more from what happened inside the courtroom.
A suburban Philadelphia woman will spend life in prison for shooting and killing her parents and then dismembering their bodies with a chainsaw inside their home.
On Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, Verity Beck, 45, of Abington, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of her parents, Reid Beck, 73, and Miriam Beck, 72.
Verity Beck was silent as she was led to and from the courtroom. While inside the courtroom, however, she admitted to killing her parents and dismembering their bodies.
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The couple’s bodies were found on Jan. 17, 2023, after their son told Abington police he had gone to his parents’ home to check on them. He said he saw a body on a floor, covered with a bloody sheet, and a chainsaw nearby. Prosecutors later said both victims had a single gunshot wound to the head.
The man told police that he spoke to his sister, who also lived there, and that when he asked whether something bad had happened to their parents, she responded, “Yes.” Verity Beck, a former teacher at a special education school in Lower Merion Township, told her brother that things at home had “been bad,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also said Beck was facing financial difficulties and her parents had accused her of stealing from them.
Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in the case and Beck underwent several mental health evaluations which determined she was competent to stand trial.
In January 2024, Beck notified officials that she intended to use an insanity defense. While the court found she was sane when she committed the murders, they accepted her plea of guilty but mentally ill.
"While everyone in the family realized that she had mental health issues, no one recognized the seriousness of it or how serious it had become," James Lyons, Beck's defense attorney, told NBC10 on Monday.
While spending the rest of her life in prison, Beck will receive medical treatment so that she won’t be a threat to herself and others.
Beck's family members, including her brother, were present in court on Monday. They were pleased the case did not go to trial.
“This was a horrendous tragedy for them to have to live through since it happened all the way up until this point," Samantha Cauffman, the prosecutor, said Monday. "To not have to go through that process of a trial, this is wonderful for them.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
