A 51-year-old man who was arrested last year at a Pennsylvania casino the day after he killed his parents in New Jersey with a knife and baseball bats, as well as trying to suffocate them with plastic bags, is headed to prison for 41 years, prosecutors said.
After killing the Washington Township couple on Oct. 27 at their home where he also lived, Todd Warner stole their credit card, which hours later he used to gamble at one or more casinos.
Following the double homicide, Warner went to the Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the New Jersey Herald, a local newspaper, reported. One day later, Warner was apprehended by police while playing blackjack at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, the Herald added.
Warner Will Serve Concurrent Sentences
Warren County Superior Court Judge H. Matthew Curry recently sentenced Warner to concurrent 36-year terms for two counts of first-degree murder, according to a statement from the Warren County prosecutor’s office. Warner will also serve an additional five years for third-degree fraudulent use of a credit card, the statement adds.
In September, Warner pleaded guilty in connection with the deaths of his 73-year-old parents, Frank and Joyanne Warner. Originally, he had pleaded not guilty to charges.
Todd Warner suffered from problem gambling and alcohol addiction, LehighValleyLive.com, a regional news site in Pennsylvania, reported, citing unnamed sources.
The couple’s daughter notified police after she became worried she could not reach her parents. The couple, who were high school sweethearts and were married for 52 years, were close to retiring from the salon they worked at, the Herald said.
Upon his arrest, police also claimed that Warner stole his parents 2019 Kia Soul, which he apparently used to drive to the casino.
Other Gamblers Sentenced for Murders
There have been other unrelated murder sentences for players who suffered from gambling addiction who allegedly killed a friend or relative.
For instance, Ahmed Seedat, an Australian man who is currently serving a minimum of 23 years in a Perth prison for killing his wife. He recently was sentenced to another 10 years for fleecing victims of more than $6 million to feed his gambling habit. His sentences will run concurrently.
Ahmed Seedat was convicted of murdering his wife, Fahima Yusuf, in August 2018. He allegedly killed her by hitting her repeatedly with a wheel brace before burying her in a shallow grave in the backyard while their children, aged two and five, slept.
Earlier, in 2017, an Asian man allegedly killed and dismembered a friend before stuffing the burned torso into a suitcase, and later went on a £180,000 ($225,000) gambling spree just weeks after the crime in Derbyshire, UK.
Ming Jiang, 43, was found guilty of murdering fellow Chinese national and gambler Yang Liu, 36, before leaving his headless and limbless body in the suitcase at a remote driver’s rest area in rural Derbyshire. He is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison, the Independent, a UK newspaper, reported.
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