Disturbing details released in murder of grandmother, grandson in Willingboro, New Jersey

WILLINGBORO, N.J. (WPVI) -- Authorities have released horrific details pertaining to the murders of a grandmother and 9-year-old boy in Willingboro, Burlington County.

23-year-old Terrance J. Matthews has been charged with killing his ex-girlfriend's grandmother and brother inside of their Eastbrook Lane home on Wednesday evening.

According to officials, it was just after 10 a.m. Thursday when Westampton Township police officers were dispatched to the Wawa store on Springside Road after a woman there asked an employee for help.

Investigators say Matthews and his ex-girlfriend had entered the store, and that's when the woman told a Wawa employee that Matthews had killed her family. Matthews then fled the store.

Officers responded to the house in the 100 block of Eastbrook Lane where inside they discovered the bodies of 68-year-old Jennifer Vassell and her grandson, 9-year-old Ishon Mathiln Jr.. Both were stabbed multiple times, and Ishon appears to have been drowned in a bathtub.

Vassell was the grandmother of Matthews' ex-girlfriend, who also lives in the Eastbrook Lane home, and Ishon Mathiln was her brother.

Authorities say the murders occurred while the ex-girlfriend was at work on Wednesday. When she arrived home after work, Matthews was at the home and allegedly held her against her will through the night.

According to authorities, the motive for the killings appears to stem from an argument Matthews had with the ex-girlfriend during a telephone call earlier in the day on Wednesday.

Matthews led police on a high-speed chase on Thursday afternoon, during which he was broadcasting live on Facebook. He was apprehended after crashing his car into a pole.

Matthews is charged with two counts of Murder (First Degree), one count of Kidnapping (First Degree), one count of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree) and one count of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Fourth Degree).

Prosecutors say they are investigating to see if the suspect is connected to other crimes in the area.