This past weekend, Farmville police described their first encounter with McCroskey. McCroskey answered the door at the home of Kelley and Emma on Thursday at 11:58 p.m. after a single officer went to check on Wells at the request of her mother, police said.
But yesterday, police said McCroskey called one hour later, Friday at 12:58 a.m., and said he heard something in the basement and wanted police to check it, said Wade Stimpson, the town's acting police chief.
Two officers arrived, and McCroskey let them into the house and the officers went down some stairs into the basement, which was covered with animal feces, Stimpson said. The officers then left without suspicion.
The bodies were not in the basement and were in a "totally separate part of the house," Stimpson said.
Less than four hours later, about 4:40 a.m., a Prince Edward sheriff's deputy ticketed McCroskey for driving without a license after he got a stolen car stuck in a ditch, authorities said. McCroskey is accused of stealing the car from Mark Niederbrock.
The car had not been reported stolen, and a tow-truck driver gave McCroskey a ride to a nearby Sheetz convenience store, police said. McCroskey arrived at Richmond International Airport by taxi later that day.
Wells' mother called police again Friday after she still hadn't heard from her daughter. Police went back to the house that afternoon and found the victims after noticing what smelled like decaying bodies, Stimpson has said.
Stimpson said two dogs and two cats were found alive in the house, away from the bodies. The animals were taken to a shelter in Prince Edward.
"Everything about this case is weird," Stimpson said.
Airport police took McCroskey into custody Saturday after they found him sleeping in a baggage-claim area as he waited for a flight to California.
Ennis said yesterday that the medical examiner confirmed the identification of the victims Monday, and relatives were notified.
Ennis said authorities had interviewed McCroskey friend Andres Shrim, who starred in a music video that shows actors pretending to murder religious figures, according to Jacob Virgil, who said he worked on the set.
Ennis did not say what was learned from the interview with Shrim. Authorities say they have identified no suspect other than McCroskey.