Crowley Parents Killed By Teen They Adopted From Russia, Police Say

Thursday morning, Crowley police revealed the details behind the grisly double murder of Troy and Mary Brewer. Police say that Carl Brewer, 17, killed his parents and prompted a 10-hour standoff at the scene of the crime.

On Tuesday afternoon, police received a 911 call from a friend of Carl Brewer's. The caller, who didn't tell the operator his name, said the adopted Russian teen confessed to the crime while the two smoked pot together.

After the call, Crowley police tried to contact the Brewers. They drove to the Brewers' house in the 800 block of Buffalo Court in Crowley. Everything seemed fine, Soler said Thursday, so the cops didn't enter the house. They returned to check on the house again Tuesday night.

“There was a faint odor of death coming from the front door,” said Lieutenant Robert Gray, who oversees the department’s Criminal Investigations Unit. “We decided to make entry and do a welfare check. And it was at that time that we discovered the first body.”

Troy Brewer lay dead in a bedroom, Mary's body in a bag the next room over. Then police heard someone moving.

“As we finished up clearing that room, we heard what we believed to be footsteps coming from the second floor above us,” Gray said. “I made the determination to back everyone out and contact a SWAT team.” Police evacuated the neighbors from the surrounding houses.

A 10-hour standoff ensued. Carl Brewer refused to surrender until police from Burleson and Fort Worth SWAT fired tear-gas canisters into the home.

“Even though we knew we had a bad situation on our hands, everybody showed restraint,” Soler said. “Everybody showed respect for the suspect’s safety, for the safety of the neighbors, and for the safety of the officers. And they used the best tactics, which ultimately resulted in what we wanted — which was to capture the suspect without anyone else getting hurt.”

Soler said that police still aren't sure why Carl Brewer did what they say he did. “We don’t know the exact motive,” Soler said. “But from our conversations with the suspect, it appears this is unfortunately a tragic event that started as a family disturbance.”

Carl Brewer is charged with the murder of both of his parents. His bail is set at $100,000 on each count.