A Texas man was charged with murder after two bludgeoned and decomposing bodies were found inside his family’s home, with the victims believed to be his mother and her partner, police said.
Michael Andrew Novak, 28, was arrested on Friday night after he was found hiding inside his Bandera home when deputies were called to investigate a foul odor coming from the residence, the Bandera Bulletin reports.
Inside, police found two bodies decomposing in a bed together, each suffering “severe trauma” to their heads. It was unclear how long the individuals were lying there before being removed by police.
The Bandera County Sheriff’s office said the bodies were too decomposed to immediately identify, but they believe the bodies belong to Novak’s mother, Crystal Holder, and her common law husband Rick Biering.
“My daughter was such a loving, giving, beautiful person and I just can’t think of much else right now,” Holder’s mother, Judi Andreolli, told KENS5. “I can’t believe this has happened.”
Andreolli was at the home after police closed off the area, saying that she had come to conduct a wellness check after not hearing back from her daughter for three days.
Michael Andrew Novak, 28, was arrested for double homicide on Friday after two bodies were found decomposing in his family’s home. Bandera County Sheriff's Office
One of the bodies is believed to be that of his mother, Crystal Holder, but the identity remains to be verified. Family Handout
The other body likely belongs to Holder’s partner, Rick Biering, police said. Family HandoutAndreolli added that she was also going to give Novak, her grandson, a birthday present – a picture she drew of him when he was 12.
Instead, the grieving mother was met with shock and horror after learning that her grandson was arrested over the murder of her daughter and son-in-law.
Andreolli noted that Novak was suffering from depression and emotional issues and had previously served a prison sentence for shooting and wounding his father.
Grandmother Judi Andreolli was on her way to deliver a birthday present to Novak and check on her daughter when police delivered the devastating news. KENS5
The home was sealed off by police, who found Novak hiding inside when they checked the residence over an odor complaint. KENS5“He shot his dad, but he didn’t kill him,” she told KENS5.
Central Texas Autopsy, in Lockhart, will be conducting the official autopsy of the corpses recovered.
Novak was booked for double homicide at the Bandera County Jail, where he remains under a $1 million bond.
