‘He threatened to decapitate me’: Martinez man, charged with killing parents, allegedly confessed without remorse

CONCORD — A Martinez man who was charged with murdering his parents allegedly came out of their home nude and promptly confessed to police, authorities said.

Kirk Richardson, 61, was charged with killing Joyce Richardson, 85, and William Richardson, 90, in a New Year’s Eve shooting at the couple’s Concord home. Authorities say Kirk Richardson has a history of mental illness and gave an erratic confession, claiming responsibility and that he’d thought of killing his parents for decades.

Nearly 40 years ago, in 1989, the couple asked a judge for a restraining order against their son, citing “domestic violence,” according to court filings. In 2013, Richardson’s then-neighbor, a Martinez man, also filed for a restraining order against him, alleging their friendship went south after he canceled a planned fishing trip with Richardson.

“He threatened to decapitate me,” the neighbor wrote of Richardson in the application. The neighbor’s girlfriend filed a similar request, asking for a judge to order Richardson to cease harassment and “not blow smoke from illegal drugs into my apartment.”

The neighbor’s application also said Richardson owned a “six-and-a-half foot sword” and continued to own the weapon despite being in the “mental health system.”

Richardson was booked into jail the day of the double homicide and remains there. He has not yet been arraigned. The charges carry enhancements alleging Richardson used a gun to kill his parents, but not enhancements for alleged elder abuse or killing multiple victims, the latter of which would have carried a potential life without parole sentence.

If convicted as charged, Richardson faces a sentence of 50 years to life.