Police: Kentucky Family Killer Murders Again Four Months After Release

A Kentucky teen murderer who spent decades in prison has killed two more people just months after being released, police said.

Dustin Caudill admitted to fatally shooting his mother, Karen Caudill, and his 10-year-old brother, Nicholas, in their Elizabethtown home when he was just 15 years old in 1994, the Daily Mail reported.

At the time, the teen told police that he “just snapped” before committing the shocking crimes.

“We was playing some cards and we was talking and then he started acting stupid. He just started acting like a little brother,” Caudill told police of the moments before he killed his little brother. 

He shot mother later when she arrived home later that night.

Caudill, now 43, served 27 years in prison before being released in 2020, then did another brief stint after being arrested on criminal trespassing and assault charges in 2022, according to Meade County records.

Just four months after his latest release, police said he murdered two more people and burned down a home to cover his tracks.

The bodies of Blake France, 41, and Anthony Garret, 43, were both found with gunshot wounds inside a burnt house in Elizabethtown on Thursday morning, local police department announced:

“The fire was also determined to have been intentionally set,” police said, before recounting how they tracked the gold pickup truck that Caudill allegedly fled the scene in before going to a nearby motel. 

“Video surveillance from the location showed Dustin Caudill, 45, of Elizabethtown, exiting the vehicle and later discarding a handgun,” cops said. “Further investigation revealed personal belongings of the deceased victims inside Caudill’s motel room.”

Upon questioning Caudill, investigators found that he had also shot at a third victim, though it is unclear if they were injured. 

In a police interview, Caudill confessed to shooting the men, intentionally setting the fire, and stealing the victims’ wallets before throwing them in the trash at a gas station. 

Caudill was arrested on a slew of serious charges and taken to the Hardin County Detention Center:

-Arson, 1st Degree

-Two Counts of Murder

-Tampering with Physical Evidence

-Possession of a Handgun by a Convicted Felon

-Robbery, 1st Degree

-Wanton Endangerment, 1st Degree

“I would like to thank the Elizabethtown Fire Department, Hardin County Coroner’s Office, and Hardin County EMS for their assistance during this investigation,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Affairs Officer Chris Denham. 

“Additionally, I want to commend our dedicated patrol division, investigations section, and our intelligence analyst for their swift and consistently outstanding work. Their efforts led to the identification and apprehension of the suspect within an hour and a half of responding to this horrific crime.”

The motive for Caudill’s most recent crimes is unclear.