PIKE COUNTY, Pa. — Police say Colin Winkler, 32, stabbed his parents, Jacqueline and Jeffrey Winkler, to death at a house in Dingman Township on Tuesday.
Police say the suspect was found naked on the back porch with blood all over him, a scene they describe as particularly gruesome.
"As documented in the criminal complaint, it was a very bloody crime scene," said Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin.
In Pike County, Tuesday's incident isn't even the only horrifying scene in recent months.
In April, state troopers responded to a call of a man allegedly stabbing his grandmother to death and then burning her.
"What we see in a lot of officers is what we call cumulative PTSD, which means they have seen traumatic events over and over and over again. Oftentimes harder to deal with because it's not just one event that happened in the past, it's an event that happened in the past, it could happen today, and it might happen tomorrow," said Eric Darling, a counselor at Valhalla Veterans Services.
"The best way in which we help people deal with traumatic experiences is to talk about it; family and friends talk to a mental health professional to get the support that they need to work through a very difficult situation," said Thomas Muldowney, Pennsylvania State Police Crisis Chaplain.
Thomas Muldowney says taking care of police officers' mental health has become a priority of the department over the twenty years he's been the state police chaplain, "I can tell you that over those nearly two decades that I've seen, number one: an increase in awareness which is great and number two: a response of the department to make sure that our members are in good mental health."
Officials say counseling services are provided to troopers following traumatic calls.
Meanwhile, Colin Winkler remains in custody; his next court date is scheduled for October 9th.