Man Allegedly Killed Couple and Returned Next Day to Murder Their 17-Month-Old Daughter

A Missouri man is facing a possible death sentence after he allegedly killed two young parents and then returned the next day to murder their 17-month-old daughter.

Drew Atchison, 24, has been arrested and charged in the Jan. 25 stabbing deaths of 23-year-old Samara Fontaine Kitts and her 24-year-old high school sweetheart Harley Michael Million. He has also been charged in the Jan. 26 fatal shooting of their 17-month-old daughter, Willa Fontaine Million, PEOPLE reports.

“They were a loving family and amazing parents to Willa. They weren’t married, but they had been together for the last eight years, since high school. They both have large families who love them very much and a large circle of life-long friends,” a family member said in a statement.

According to court documents, Atchison is alleged to have fatally stabbed the couple, who had recently celebrated their eighth year together, inside of their home on Jan. 25. He then dragged the bodies outside and placed them in the bed of Million’s truck. Atchison then allegedly went back inside and locked the couple’s daughter in a bedroom with the family’s dogs.

Investigators claim that Atchison returned to the home the following morning in an attempt to destroy evidence. He allegedly put the toddler inside of Million’s truck and drove to a location off of Highway JJ, where he fatally shot the girl before burying all three bodies. He also allegedly threw the knife used in the couple’s murder into the woods.

KFVS 12 reports that Atchison allegedly threw the vehicle’s registration into a river before he drove the truck to a house behind his house, where he parked it under a carport. Deputies then say that Atchison attempted to hide the vehicle by placing tarps over it.

After the family had not been heard from in days, investigators from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office reported to the house on Jan. 28, where they found evidence of foul play. The three bodies were later discovered buried on privately-owned property.

Court documents allege that Atchison confessed to the killings, though no motive for the murders has been given/

Atchison has been charged with three counts of murder, three counts of armed criminal action, and two counts of child kidnapping.