Son held in deaths of father, stepmother

Montgomery County police have charged a 20-year-old man with two counts of murder in connection with the shooting deaths of his father and stepmother, two physicians whose bodies were found in their Burtonsville home.

A relative found the bodies of Dr. Norman N.K. Katz and his wife, Dr. Michelle R. Filling-Katz, about 1:30 p.m. yesterday in their home in the 3000 block of Brownstone Court. The relative had gone to the home to check on the couple, police said.

Police charged Javant Naravan Katz with two counts of first-degree murder. He is being held without bond.

Police were unsure of a motive for the killings.

The relative found Norman Katz lying in the dining room, police said. He had been shot three times.

His wife had been shot twice and was found on the floor in the kitchen, where she had been preparing a meal, police said.

Police said believe the slayings occurred Saturday. A murder weapon was not found at the scene, police said.

The son often stayed with his father and stepmother, police said.

There were signs of a struggle in the dining room, but no signs of robbery or forced entry, police said.

"We're shocked," neighbor Linda Goldsholl, 38, said. "It's horrible."

Goldsholl and other neighbors said the couple had moved into the well-to-do neighborhood at the end of May. "We've never done anything much more than say hi," Goldsholl said of the victims. "I suggested we get together for coffee, but it never worked out."