A Fauquier County man who was 17 when he murdered his mother and younger brother was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison plus 40 years.
Levi Norwood, now 20, pleaded guilty in August to first- and second-degree murder charges stemming from the February 14, 2020, killings of Jennifer Norwood, 34, and Wyatt Norwood, 6, at the family’s home. Prosecutors arranging the guilty plea agreed to drop one count of attempted murder after multiple gunshots intended for Norwood’s father, Joshua, missed their mark, the Fauquier Times reported. The father died by suicide two months later.
Following the murders, Norwood stole a car from a neighbor’s house and fled to North Carolina, where local officers took him into custody. During his confession in a Durham interrogation room, Norwood told detectives that the murders were done in “self defense,” the report said.
“I did it all just so I would see [the girl],” he said, referencing the Black teen he was dating at the time. Norwood told police his father had threatened to kill him if he ever dated a Black woman, according to the report.
Norwood went on to express relief following the murders, saying at one point that killing his family members “just feels right.”
“Why is it so enjoyable killing people?” he said.
Circuit Judge James Fisher sentenced Norwood after a one-and-a-half-hour hearing, according to the report. The punishment exceeded the recommended 32-year sentence due to the judge’s determination that Norwood remains “a danger to himself, others, and society,” WTOP reports.
Norwood’s public defender, Ryan Ruzic, argued throughout the case that the incident stemmed from physical abuse Norwood endured at the hands of his father, claims that Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott Hook said were shared only after Norwood’s arrest in North Carolina.
A 17th birthday card Hook showed the court during closing statements painted a picture of two parents proud of their son, according to the report.
Due to his age at the time of the murders and a Virginia law that prohibits life sentences for juveniles without the chance of parole, Norwood will be eligible for parole in 20 years.
He made no comments prior to sentencing.
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