Officials Say Girl Left Freely With Boyfriend After Killings

A 14-year-old girl whose 18-year-old boyfriend is accused of killing her parents left with him willingly after the slayings, prosecutors said in court papers filed Monday.

David Ludwig told detectives that Kara Beth Borden ran from her home and into his car after he shot her parents Nov. 13, and Borden said she went with him of her own free will, according to documents filed by Lancaster County prosecutors. They said the kidnapping charge against Ludwig would be dropped.

Ludwig confessed to the killings, saying he shot the parents after the father told him to stop seeing his daughter, according to the filing. Ludwig said he shot Michael Borden in the back as he was going down the hallway to the front door and then headed toward Cathryn Borden.

“I shot Mom as she was sitting in the chair,” Ludwig was quoted as saying. “It was an intentional murder; I intended to shoot them, and I did.”

Ludwig told detectives that after the killings, he couldn’t find Kara Borden. He said he started to drive away and saw her running down the road toward him.

She got in the car and said she wanted to “get as far away as possible, get married and start a new life,” Ludwig told detectives.

Dist. Atty. Donald Totaro said the kidnapping charge against Ludwig would be dropped at his preliminary hearing next month.

Robert Beyer, an attorney representing Kara Borden, said he was not upset by the news that the kidnapping charge would be dropped.

Investigators have said they are treating Kara Borden as a crime victim for now.

Police caught up to Ludwig and Borden the day after the killings after a chase that ended with him crashing his parents’ car into a tree in Belleville, Ind., 600 miles from home.