Parents brutally murdered with baseball bats, bags and knife, NJ cops say

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Warren) — Before he drove in his mother's car to Pennsylvania to spend thousands of dollars at a casino, Todd Warner slaughtered his parents in their home, leaving his sister and brother-in-law to find the bodies, police said.

The 50-year-old was arrested Monday afternoon at Parx Casino in Bensalem and charged with the first-degree murders of Frank Warner, 73, and Joyanne Warner, 73. Police say he confessed.

In court documents obtained by New Jersey 101.5, investigators detail the brutal fashion in which Warner killed his parents.

Police said Warner admitted killing his mother and father by beating them with two baseball bats, suffocating them with plastic bags and then stabbing them with a kitchen knife.

Police burst into the Peregrine Drive home on Sunday and found Warner's father tied to a chair with a white bag over his head and blood everywhere. His mother was found in a bedroom, also with a bag over her head, and a broken baseball bat next to her.

Warner's sister called police after she and her husband went to the home to check on her parents after having received "alarming text messages and a similar [F]acebook post that indicated [Warner] wanted to harm their parents," according to an affidavit of probable cause filed against Warner.

Warner's brother-in-law said he looked into a window and saw his father-in-law sitting in a chair with something white over his head.

The mother's car was missing from the garage but Warner's car was still parked in front of the home, they told police.

Police broke into the home about 5:46 p.m. and made the grisly discovery.

Investigators said they made a "ping" of Warner's cellphone, which put him near the Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Police said they checked the casino's security footage and spotted Warner there at 10 a.m. on the day of the killings.

Police said that at Wind Creek, Warner used his father's credit card to get an $8,000 cash advance. He left the casino at 11:46 a.m., police said. Police then notified other casinos in the state to be on the lookout for Warner and he was tracked down to Parx Casino the next afternoon. Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke said cops pulled Warner back from a blackjack table before arresting him.

Police said they got a Warner's murder confession on tape as well as his blood-stained pants and shoes.

The couple owned the Frank Anthony beauty salon in Chester, Morris County.

Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-359-5348 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.