The son of former Virginia state senator Edd Houck allegedly kidnapped his ex-wife and murdered her new boyfriend before killing himself in northeastern Virginia Tuesday morning, according to police, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Todd Houck, 36, confronted the couple at the Relax Inn motel at 8 a.m., approximately 30 miles northeast of Richmond. Houck shot his wife's 36-year-old beau, Jeremy Gift before abducting his wife, 34, (identity withheld by authorities) and taking off in his SUV north on Interstate 95, according to authorities, Fox News reported.
Responding to a 911 call made by a bystander before the shooting, police units spotted an SUV leaving the parking lot of the motel and started pursuing the vehicle before being joined by state police on I-95, according to The Washington Post.
The chase came to an end 20 miles later after state troopers boxed the suspect in and brought the vehicle to a stop. The suspect "almost momentarily" shot and killed himself, said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller before adding that the police did not open fire at the vehicle.
This wasn't Houck's first run-in with the law. Back in 1999, at the age of 19, he barricaded himself inside his apartment when police tried to arrest him for breaking into his girlfriend's house. The standoff went on for nearly 12 hours after a SWAT team forced their way in using tear gas.
Todd's father, Edd Houck, served 28 years in the Virginia state senate as a Democrat, representing Spotsylvania.
