A Huntsville man, Xavier Laharris Cole, 21, has been arrested after confessing to the brutal murder of his grandparents, Antoinette Skaggs, 67, and Kenneth Skaggs, 69, at their apartment on Carriage Court, according to Huntsville police.
On Friday night around 10:30 p.m., officers responded to a call on Carriage Court and found Cole sitting in the passenger seat of a car. When approached by officers, Cole admitted to killing his grandparents inside their apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment, police discovered the victims’ bodies inside the home.
Investigators have not released details about how the Skaggs couple was killed, and Cole’s criminal history shows no prior offenses in Alabama, according to court records.
Neighbors reported that Cole’s behavior had raised concerns for some time. Darius Underwood, a neighbor, recalled an earlier incident that day when Cole was acting erratically. “He was already out here, acting a fool, going crazy earlier,” Underwood said. He also described a tense encounter where Cole became agitated when he asked for something Underwood did not have.
Despite the unsettling behavior, neighbors didn’t expect a tragedy like this in their quiet neighborhood. “Something like that, you don’t expect to happen in a small neighborhood like this,” Underwood added.
After his confession, Cole was taken into custody and transported to Huntsville Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. He was interviewed by the Major Crimes Unit and subsequently arrested on two counts of capital murder. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and further details will be released as more information becomes available.
