Son allegedly kills father with axe, wounds mother with knife

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The son of a popular high school football coach was charged Friday with killing his father with an axe and wounding his mother with a kitchen knife.

Gwinnett County Police found Charles Ross Mize, the football coach at Parkview High School, dead from axe wounds in an upstairs bathroom in his home.

His wife, Judy, was found in an adjacent bedroom, seriously wounded from a knife wound.

Charles R. Mize Jr., 24, described as a stable, fun-loving young man, was lodged in the Gwinnett County Jail, facing charges of murder and aggravated assault.

Police spokesman Larry Walton said the only motive so far uncovered involved the son’s grades in college.

‘There had been some pressure apparently in the past pertaining to grades and activities on the part of the mother and father,’ he said.

Walton said there was no obvious provocation for the attack.

The father reportedly tried to seek refuge in the bathroom but his son followed him in with an axe and hit him several times.

When his mother tried to intervene, he stabbed her with a kitchen knife, police said. After she was stabbed, the mother persuaded her son to call authorities, according to police.

Mrs. Mize was listed in stable condition after surgery at Gwinnett Medical Center.

Neighbors told police the Mize family, which had lived in the subdivision for about one year, seemed to be close and was always friendly.

Students and faculty at Parkview High School were stunned at the newsand several left school early to deal with the tragedy.

Three counselors went to the school to help students and faculty deal with the incident.