Deputies: Son, 17, charged with murder after parents found dead in Watauga Co. home

WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — The Watauga County Sheriff's Office said they have charged a suspect accused of killing two people inside a home in Deep Gap.

Deputies said 17-year-old Tristan Noah Borlase was arrested in Tennessee and charged with the murder of his biological parents.

Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty was on the scene Thursday morning on Orchard Drive, along with Boone police, Watauga County deputies and state investigators.

“It’s unheard of out here,” neighbor Paul Blevins said. “You usually have a little bit of shootings out here -- target practice -- but that’s about it.”

[ALSO READ: Sheriff: Watauga Co. man shot, killed by deputy during 'violent struggle']

The house is down a dirt drive leading into a wooded area in the Deep Gap community about a mile from the Watauga/Wilkes county line.

Officials said the slain couple, 43-year-old Jeffrey and 44-year-old Tanya Borlase, had eight children, some of whom they were fostering.

Neighbors said they heard screams coming from the home around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The sheriff told Faherty that deputies responded to a suspicious incident Wednesday night and when they got to the house, they found a woman dead inside. Her husband was dead a few feet away outside.

Channel 9 has confirmed authorities are treating the crime as domestic in nature and that a teenager has been taken into custody in Tennessee.

Officials said the 17-year-old suspect lived at the home where the victims were found.

“I was right on King Street, and I heard on the radio that someone was dead on Orchard and I was, like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s crazy. I can’t believe it.’”

Channel 9 saw District Attorney Seth Banks at the scene Thursday morning, but he did not want to comment about the investigation.

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