KALISPELL - A man has been charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of two Bigfork residents in October of 2022.
Prosecutors have charged Derrick James Jackson with the murders of 65-year-old Stanley Allen Grotberg and 62-year-old Tricia Lynn Demotts at their home in Bigfork.
Jackson has been charged with two counts of deliberate homicide and one count each of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
According to charging documents, Flathead County Sheriff deputies took Jackson into custody on Oct. 28, 2022, after numerous reports of an armed man breaking into homes on Esteban Lane in Bigfork.
Deputies found Jackson holding a power drill on the Esteban Lane property. He told deputies he was looking for relatives in the area but couldn't say why he was in that specific area.
A search found a loaded magazine for a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber pistol and a prescription bottle with Grotberg's name on it.
Deputies said in charging documents they returned to Esteban lane to track down Grotberg.
They found Grotberg's vehicle in the driveway and saw lights on in the home, but no one answered the door.
Deputies then discovered the bodies of Grotberg and Demotts in a bedroom, surrounded by blood and .40 caliber casings.
An autopsy determined both people died after being shot in the head.
Throughout the investigation, Jackson told detectives he lived with Grotberg and Demotts but declined to speak further with authorities.
Jackson is currently being held in the Flathead County Detention Center on $1.5 million bond.
He is expected to make his initial appearance Wednesday.
