Sgt. Charged in Slaying of 3 in Family

An Army sergeant was charged today with slashing the throats of an Air Force captain’s wife and two daughters who were found dead in their home.

Police questioned Sgt. Timothy Hennis, 27, for nearly seven hours Wednesday while his wife and 11-month-old daughter sat in a reception area. Hennis was freed at that time, but police went to his home about 1:30 a.m. today and charged him with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of sexual assault.

“He has not confessed. It has to do with evidence and I’m not going to give that,” said sheriff’s spokesman Harold Little.

Hennis is stationed at nearby Ft. Bragg.

Catherine Eastburn, 32, and daughters, Kara, 5, and Erin, 3, were found dead Sunday. An 18-month-old girl, Jana, survived unharmed. The woman’s husband, Capt. Gary Eastburn, was in Alabama when the slayings occurred.

Investigators had put out an urgent plea Wednesday that they wanted to talk to a man who visited the Eastburn home last week to pick up a dog the family was giving away because they were being transferred to England.

“As soon as he (Hennis) heard it on the radio he brought himself down here to talk with us,” Little said.