Person of Interest Found After Deaths of Fauquier County Couple

Police have found a man who they'd been seeking to question in the deaths of a husband and wife in Fauquier County.

John Wesley Jeffries was taken into custody Wednesday at 3:50 p.m. in the 2000 block of Lafayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg after receiving a tip from the public, police said.

Detectives spotted him climbing out the window of a residence of someone he knew in the complex, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office. After a short chase, he surrendered and was taken into custody. He was unarmed.

"I'm glad they got him... because I come out all times of night to get some air," a neighbor said.

Jeffries was later briefly hospitalized for chest pains, but remains in custody of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.

Jeffries was being sought for questioning following the deaths of Nelson Slack, 80, and Ethel Slack, 74, who were found dead in their Scott, Va. home last weekend.

The Slacks had been beaten, News4's Jim Rosenfield reported.

A vehicle known to be operated by Jeffries was found about a half mile from the Slacks' home, according to the sheriff's office.

Jeffries may also be linked to a home invasion in Fredericksburg, police said.

The victim in that case, a 67-year-old man who uses an oxygen tank, told authorities he saw a stranger in his Fredericksburg backyard around 9:30 p.m. Saturday night and told him to leave.

When the trespasser pushed the victim into his kitchen, the victim hit him over the head with his oxygen tank before leaving the house and going to a neighbor's to call 911. The other man stole money and left through the front door.

The next afternoon, Fauquier County sheriff's deputies found the Slacks dead in their home.  Friends had reported the Slacks did not show up at church and could not be reached.

The Slacks' vehicle was found Sunday evening in the Fredericksburg area, authorities said.

Jeffries, a convicted sex offender, was wanted only for questioning in the Slacks' deaths. However, he was also wanted in Spotsylvania County for allegedly trying to abduct and strangle a family member, Rosenfield reported.

(Note: Photo of scene courtesy FauquierNow.com.)

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