Police plan to charge a Gaston County man with two counts of first-degree murder in the slaying of a woman and her son.
Arrest warrants were issued late Thursday for Peter James Rivers Jr.
Local police say the 40-year-old man killed his live-in girlfriend, Bridget Berry, and her teenage son, Treyvon “T.J.” Berry.
The badly burned bodies of the mother and son were found Monday morning inside their home at 608 Ridgewood Court just outside Mount Holly.
Authorities were alerted before dawn Monday when neighbors called 911 about a house fire.
The two bodies were found inside, along with the family dog. Firefighters reported a smell of gasoline in the manufactured home. Investigators quickly labeled the fire suspicious.
Gaston County Police later determined that Berry, 38, and her son, 17, were not killed by fire, but they have not released the causes of death.
Authorities did not release identification of the bodies until Wednesday, and they initially announced they were searching for T.J. Berry and a green Chevrolet Suburban.
Law enforcement found Rivers with the vehicle in Kingsland, Ga., on Tuesday.
Rivers was taken into custody on unrelated drug charges. He waived an extradition hearing Friday and will be brought back to Gaston County to face murder charges.
Once he’s returned to Gaston County, Rivers will be served warrants charging him with two counts of first-degree murder.
He’ll then make a first appearance in Gaston County court.
Rivers and the Berrys lived in Mount Holly for about a year and ran a flooring company.
T.J. Berry was a high school senior in Charlotte, scheduled to graduate in the spring.
You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and www.Twitter.com/GazetteDiane.
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