An Arizona man charged with stabbing his wife and son to death admitted to committing the crime over fear he had infected her with human immunodeficiency virus and his belief that their son was handicapped.

ABC 15 reports Eugene Maraventano told police he had been with prostitutes and feared he had “contracted HIV or other diseases and passed them onto his wife Janet."


The 64-year-old man also told detectives his wife was ill and he was afraid she'd test positive for cancer, so he decided to terminate her life.

Court documents indicate Maraventano attacked his wife with a kitchen knife as she was sleeping. He confessed to having considered buying a gun to kill her, but decided not to because "[he's'] not a violent person."

After stabbing his wife the suspect allegedly tried to commit suicide, but instead decided to kill his 27-year-old son Bryan. Maraventano told detectives he thought his son was handicapped because he spent too much time playing video games and had no job, friends or a girlfriend. So he went into his son's room and stabbed him twice.

According to the medical examiner, Janet and Bryan had been dead for a few days when Maraventano called 911. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder.