Murder charges filed against man in slaying of 3 relatives

POLK COUNTY, Iowa -- (WHO) -- Online court records show a Bondurant man originally wanted as a material witness in the deaths of three of his family members has now been charged with three counts of first degree murder in the case.

Twenty-year-old Chase Nicholson is scheduled to make a preliminary hearing on the charges in Polk County on April 18th.

Mark, Charla, and Tawni Nicholson were found dead inside their rural Bondurant home late Thursday night after Polk County Sheriff's deputies were called to do a welfare check. Quickly thereafter police issued a material witness warrant for Chase.

Police located him around 10:00 a.m. Friday at a Walmart in Neosho, Missouri. That's about six hours away from the Des Moines metro area. Police say that's when Nicholson confessed to killing three people.