HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A former Henrico County Police Officer faces a life prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to killing his wife and stepdaughter. Richard Crowder, 60, of Varina, entered those pleas Wednesday in Henrico Circuit Court.
Crowder opened fire on the women and police officers who responded to his Varina home in July 2022.
"Diane Crowder , 53, was in the process of leaving her husband and moving out of their home," Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor said in a statement following the hearing. "She had employed the help of her family, to include her daughter, 35-year-old Carrie Szaksz. During the move, with employees of the moving company upstairs and other family members outside the home, Richard Crowder opened fire on the two women, striking them each numerous times and killing them."
The movers told investigators that they were warned Crowder was “drunk and agitated,” according to court documents. Those men also told investigators they fled the house after hearing gunshots.
In addition to pleading guilty to those first-degree murders, Crowder entered an Alford plea to the attempted aggravated murder of Henrico County Police Officer Kenneth Saunders and Henrico County Police Officer William Grimmer.
An Alford plea means Crowder maintained his innocence, but acknowledged there was sufficient evidence to convict him.
"Officer Saunders was one of the first to arrive and, while he was in his marked patrol SUV with lights activated, numerous shots were fired into his vehicle, shattering the driver’s side window," Taylor said. "He immediately got on the ground outside the vehicle for cover while shots continued to be fired in his direction. Officer Grimmer and others went to the aid of Officer Saunders and, with their weapons drawn for protection, they were able to pull a second patrol vehicle near Officer Saunders so he could jump into the back seat. Officer Grimmer’s vehicle also took gunfire."
Crowder was arrested after a nine-hour-long standoff with police at his Phillips Wood Drive in eastern Henrico.
Crowder, who was in the Henrico Police Department from 1986 to 2014, will be sentenced on May 31.
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