Christopher Bryan Speight

Christopher Bryan Speight was born in 1969 and lived in Appomattox County, Virginia. He was employed as a security guard at a local grocery store at the time of the killings. Public records and reporting indicate that Speight lived a largely unremarkable life prior to 2010, with no widely known history of violent criminal convictions before the murders.

Speight was the co-owner of a rural home in Appomattox County along with his sister, Lauralee Sipe. He maintained relationships with extended family members and was familiar with all of his eventual victims. In the period leading up to the shootings, Speight exhibited signs of severe mental illness, including delusional beliefs and hallucinations, though these were not publicly disclosed until after his arrest.

Mental health evaluations later revealed that Speight believed he was receiving commands from a supernatural entity, whom he described as an Egyptian goddess named “Jennifer.” According to investigators, Speight believed his family members were possessed by demons and that killing them was necessary to fulfill these commands.

The Appomattox killings unfolded over several days and culminated on January 19, 2010. Investigators later determined that Speight first killed members of his own family approximately two days before the public discovery of the crime. Inside the co-owned home, Speight murdered his sister Lauralee Sipe, 38, and her husband Dwayne S. Sipe, 38, both of whom were found in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds. He also killed their four-year-old son Joshua Sipe, who was found at the top of the staircase, and Lauralee’s teenage daughter Morgan L. Dobyns, 15, who was found shot on the porch. Authorities believe the bodies were left inside the home to decompose, in line with Speight’s delusional belief that the victims’ bodies needed to “rot.”

On January 19, 2010, Speight continued his killing spree outside the residence. He shot and killed Emily A. Quarles, 15, a friend of Morgan Dobyns, who was found in a vehicle in the driveway. He then murdered Emily’s parents, Jonathan L. Quarles, 43, who was found in the road or driveway, and Karen Quarles, 43, who was found shot on the porch. Speight also killed Ronald I. Scruggs, 16, Emily Quarles’ boyfriend, who was found in the driveway with a gunshot wound to the back.

That same day, police were dispatched after a neighbor reported a man needing medical assistance on a nearby road. When officers arrived, Speight opened fire on them and also fired at a police helicopter, striking it and forcing an emergency landing. He then fled into a wooded area, prompting a massive manhunt involving more than 100 law enforcement officers.

Speight surrendered peacefully on January 20, 2010, wearing a bulletproof vest. He was not armed at the time of surrender. During the investigation, authorities discovered that the house had been rigged with explosives. A bomb squad later found and safely detonated explosives both inside and around the home.

On June 24, 2010, an Appomattox County Circuit Court judge declared Speight incompetent to stand trial, and he was committed to a state psychiatric hospital for treatment and evaluation. The case remained stalled for several years while attorneys addressed pretrial motions and awaited further mental health assessments.

During interviews with investigators, Speight stated that he committed the murders under orders from a supernatural entity and believed the victims were possessed by demons. Mental health experts for both the prosecution and defense concluded that Speight was legally insane at the time of the killings.

On February 15, 2013, Speight entered a plea agreement and was sentenced to five life terms plus 18 years. The convictions included three counts of capital murder, one count of attempted capital murder of a police officer (related to firing at the helicopter), and five firearms-related charges. Prosecutors stated that a death sentence was highly unlikely due to the unanimous expert findings of insanity.