King County prosecutors charged Vincent Wayne Housley on Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killing of his parents after an argument about his drug use Feb. 1 at their Panther Lake home.

Housley, 43, remains in the King County jail in Seattle on $2 million bail. He is slated to be arraigned Feb. 18 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice center in Kent. If convicted as charged, Housley faces a standard sentence of 44 to 57 years in prison.

The bodies of Housley’s father, Joe Housley, 66, and mother, Karen Housley, 67, were found by another adult son on Feb. 4 inside their home in the 21200 block of 124th Avenue Southeast, just outside of the Kent city limits.

King County Sheriff’s detectives arrested Vincent Housley Feb. 5 at a Tukwila motel in connection with the deaths of the Panther Lake couple, after interviewing him, shortly after the bodies were discovered.

Housley, who lived with his parents, told detectives that he beat and stabbed his mother and father during an argument with them over his drug use, according to charging papers released Monday by the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

Both parents had multiple, blunt-force injuries to their heads, reportedly inflicted by their son. Investigators found a bloody baseball bat found near Joe Housley’s body. Both victims also had stab wounds to their torso and neck, according to charging papers.

Investigators found a large chef’s knife in Joe Housley’s back. Another bloody knife was found in the kitchen of the home.

Vincent Housley told detectives he had been smoking large quantities of crack cocaine since Jan. 30 and into the next several days. His parents returned home on or about Feb. 1 from a trip to Spokane.

The son also told police he ransacked the home of his parents on Feb. 2 for valuables to sell for drugs. He also took their two cars. He reportedly sold his mother’s 2006 Buick Lacrosse for one ounce of rock cocaine.

Vincent Housley’s former wife told detectives that she had received a recent message on her cell phone about an item Vincent had left at a library at South 144th Street and 42nd Avenue South in Tukwila.

Detectives know the area near the library often is used for dealing drugs, so they began to search that neighborhood. Detectives then spotted a 1988 Buick Regal, owned by Joe Housley, parked at a Tukwila motel in the 3700 block of South 146th Street.

Detectives found Vincent Housley in one of the motel rooms. He reportedly had used his father’s credit card to pay for the room. The son agreed to talk to detectives at a nearby police station about the death of his parents.

The second son, who lives in Oregon, had asked deputies to check on the couple Feb. 4. He had become concerned after he was unable to reach his parents for several days. When deputies said the home was locked and asked if he wanted them to break the door down, the son said he would come up and check on them. He then called deputies when he found his parents’ bodies.

Contact Kent Reporter Courts, government reporter Steve Hunter at shunter@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 5052.

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