A man pleaded guilty Monday to murdering two young people inside a home in Dumfries, Virginia, last year.
Desmond Daniel entered guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 22-year-old Alyssa Trynese Gainey and 24-year-old Javon Alberto Williams.
"This case was such a horrible tragedy," Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth said in a statement. "Our community lost two young adults to senseless gun violence."
Investigators found that Daniel had made threats on social media hours before the murders, which happened on the night of Nov. 16, 2022.
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Ring camera footage revealed he shot through a basement window at a home on Isle Royale Terrace that night, the Prince William County Commonwealth's attorney's office said. Daniel entered the house through the window and shot the victims before leaving through the same window, the prosecutors said.
Police responded after gunshots were heard. They found the victims in the basement suffering from gunshot wounds.
A dog was also found shot and had to be "humanely euthanized," authorities said.
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Within hours of the shootings, police found and arrested Daniel at a parking lot near Dulles International Airport. He had bought a one-way ticket to Panama, authorities said.
"We are grateful for the hard work done by the police who worked quickly to apprehend Mr. Daniel before he left the country," Ashworth said. "Excellent police work allowed us to resolve this case without putting the victims’ families through a trial."
Daniel will be sentenced in March of next year. He faces a maximum sentence of two life terms in prison.
