Photo: MO Man Slashes Parent’s Throats Leaves Toddler Alone Overnight Before Shooting Dead

Missouri man, Drew Atchison, is charged Monday with three counts of first-degree murder and other crimes after a couple and a toddler were killed in rural southeast Missouri.

Atchison, 24, is accused of murdering Samara Fontaine Kitts, 23, her 24-year-old boyfriend Harley Michael Million, and their 17-month-old daughter Willa Fontaine Million. Million later killed the child after leaving her alone with dogs overnight at the crime scene.

Court documents indicate Atchison confessed to the killings. It did not list a motive.

Deputies say, Atchison fatally slashed the couple last Thursday at their home in Wayne County. He allegedly put the bodies in the back of Million’s truck and left the child alone overnight, locking her in a room with dogs.

On Friday, according to court documents, Atchison returned to the home and destroyed evidence. Deputies say he put the child inside Million’s truck, where her parents lay dead in the bed, KFVS reports. He then drove the truck to neighboring Butler County, where documents said he threw the knife used in the killings in the woods. Atchison allegedly took the child out of the truck fatally shot her. He then buried her with her parents beneath blankets and trash, the court document said. The bodies were found Monday, a day after relatives alerted police that the family had not been seen for several days. source

Autopsy results show Million and Kitts had their throats slashed, and their young daughter had been shot in the head, reports CBS affiliate KFVS.

Atchison, of Williamsville, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, armed criminal action and child kidnapping in Wayne County, about 140 miles southwest of St. Louis. He is jailed and does not yet have a listed attorney.

A relative of the victims said in a statement that Kitts and Million weren’t married but had been together for eight years and were “amazing parents to Willa.”

Atchison appeared in court Wednesday. He did not enter a plea. His next court date was set for Feb. 15.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends at this difficult time.