Judge Denies Bond For Chapel Hill Teen Charged With Parents' Murder

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — A Chapel Hill teenager charged with murdering his parents, then leaving their bodies in the family's home for two weeks, will not be released on bond.

A judge denied a request by Adam Sapikowski's attorney to make the teen's bond $300,000.

Public defender James Williams had asked the judge Monday to keep in mind Sapikowski's videotaped statement to police, where the he told officers the shootings were provoked. In the statement, according to Williams, there had been "some elements of physical and emotional abuse that led up to the killings."

Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said in court Monday that Sapikowski, 17, may have been planning to leave the area. He said a sport utility vehicle found at the home was loaded up with camping equipment, food, the murder weapon and a small amount of ammunition. They also said he had access to nearly $19,000 in a bank account.

Woodall said he believes the only reason Sapikowski did not leave, was because a female friend would not go with him.

Woodall also told the judge that if Sapikowski were given bond, no one in his immediate family would be willing to take him in because the family, including Sapikowski's sister Lauren, are worried about their own safety. Since the teen's arrest, the family has had little contact with him.

"The family -- they're extremely concerned for their safety," Woodall said.

Williams assured the judge that relatives had nothing to worry about.

"Adam is a child," Williams said. He also said Sapikowski had shown no signs of anger, only anguish, including sobbing and weeping.

More information was also released Monday about the timeline of the murders.

Woodall said it appears that high school junior shot his parents Thursday, April 28 -- two days before the prom.

Police are also looking into reports that Sapikowski hosted an after-prom party at his home on Saturday, April 30.

Investigators have said that he spent the next two weeks checking in and out of a Durham hotel before he was arrested May 14. Police had received a call from a concerned family member who had not heard from the Sapikowskis.

Sapikowski's older sister Lauren, a Washington and Lee college student, is now working with investigators.

According to a search warrant, Sapikowski's sister told them about a secret hiding place in his room. Police found a security safe consistent with a key he had given his girlfriend. They also found National Rifle Association certificates and marksman awards.

Woodall plans to present the Sapikowski case to the grand jury the week of June 27, and is hoping to indict Sapikowski on 2 counts of first-degree murder.

Sapikowski is scheduled to appear back in court on July 7.