NEW YORK, NY – A dramatic high-speed chase in New York culminated in the capture of a Virginia woman wanted for the gruesome murders of her three roommates, authorities reported Thursday.
Alyssa Jane Venable, 23, had been on the run since Tuesday, when the bodies of Robert John McGuire, 77, Gregory Scott Powell, 60, and Carol Anne Reese, 65, were found in their Spotsylvania County home. The victims had suffered severe blunt-force trauma, and the sheriff’s office labeled the killings as “heinous.”
The U.S. Marshals Service and New York State Police apprehended Venable on I-86 in Steuben County after she led officers on a high-speed chase, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. The pursuit, which reached speeds of 100 mph, ended when police deployed a tire deflation device, causing Venable’s car to crash. She was taken to a local hospital for precautionary measures.
Authorities discovered the victims late Tuesday night after responding to a welfare check at their residence on White Street Court, about 60 miles south of Washington, D.C. Officials have not confirmed whether Venable had any relationship with the victims.
Neighbors described the occupants of the home as quiet and noted that Venable had moved in roughly a month ago. Last month, she faced a misdemeanor assault and battery charge, but it remains unclear if that incident is connected to the homicides.
New York State Police are handling Venable’s fugitive warrant and coordinating her extradition to Virginia, where she will face three second-degree murder charges and a firearm charge.