Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

The Farmville Murders

The Farmville murders occurredin Farmville, Virginia in September 2009 – the quadruplebludgeoning homicide of Mark Niederbrock, Debra S. Kelley, theirdaughter Emma Niederbrock and friend Melanie Wells.

Emma Niederbrock shared an onlinerelationship with Richard Samuel McCroskey, a troubled aspiringrapper. Together, Emma Niederbrock, McCroskey, her mother, andfather, along with friend Wells, attended a horrorcore concert theweek before. When Wells' mother could not locate her daughter, shealerted police, who discovered the murders.

McCroskey, 20 years old, wassubsequently arrested, convicted of the murders and sentenced to lifein prison. As of 2020, he is serving his sentence at Wallens RidgeState Prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.

The murders

The murders took place at Dr. DebraKelley's home, where Kelley lived with her daughter Emma Niederbrock.The bodies were found just after 3:00 p.m. on September 17, 2009, thevictims having been bludgeoned to death with a hammer and maul. Threebodies were found in a downstairs bedroom and one in a room upstairs.

Days before the killings EmmaNiederbrock and Melanie Wells joined McCroskey in Michigan for ahorrorcore concert, the Strictly for the Wicked Festival. Accordingto police, Emma's parents, Debra Kelley and Mark Niederbrock hadtaken Emma Niederbrock, Melanie Wells and McCroskey to the concert.

Prince Edward County Commonwealth'sAttorney James Ennis said McCroskey's anger over his failingrelationship with Emma Niederbrock led to the killings. Ennis saysMcCroskey was angered by some text messages Emma sent while they werein Michigan. They returned to Virginia, and McCroskey becameincreasingly distraught about the relationship, Ennis said. He had anexpectation that he and Emma were seeing each other exclusively andwas unhappy with how things were going.

Late in the evening of Sept. 14, 2009,or early the next morning, McCroskey attacked the three femalevictims in the house as they were sleeping, Ennis said. He killedeach within a short period of time around 3 a.m. on Sept. 15.

Ennis said that McCroskey first killedWells, who was on a sofa in a first-floor den, then Kelley in anupstairs room, and finally Emma in her downstairs bedroom. He struckeach victim multiple times with the maul. "No one awoke,"Ennis said, adding that the victims had no defensive wounds.

Mark Niederbrock arrived at the homethree days later, Sept. 17 about 5 p.m., and McCroskey attacked himwith the maul in a living room, Ennis said. McCroskey later movedMark Niederbrock's and Wells' bodies into Emma's room, and heattempted to clean up the bloody den, Ennis said.

At some point, McCroskey used a digitalcamera to record a video of himself, according to Ennis. In thevideo, he indicated that he knew he had to pay for what he had doneand contemplated suicide, Ennis said.

A press release was issued to thepublic at the time of the murders. An e-mail was sent to LongwoodUniversity students. The following Monday, the Attorney General andFarmville County Police Department held a press conference where thebodies were identified.