Suspects in Carnation Murders Plead Not Guilty

Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe pleaded not guilty today to charges of murdering six members of Anderson’s family Dec. 24 in Carnation, Wash., the Seattle Times reports. Friends and Anderson family members wore pictures of the two child victims—3 and 5 years old—and were seen frequently wiping away tears during the hearing in a Seattle courtroom.

Court documents revealed that Anderson was tired of her family “stepping on her” and had resolved to kill them if that didn’t change by Dec. 24. She had also apparently been enraged by requests that she and McEnroe, her boyfriend, pay rent for the trailer they lived in on her parents’ property. Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty. (More Carnation, Wash. stories.)