Suspect arraigned in murders of three women inside home in Hempstead, Long Island

HEMPSTEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- A man charged with killing his mother, his sister and a family friend with a hammer was arraigned Sunday on Long Island.

34-year-old Bobby Vanderhall is charged with three counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

The bodies of 58-year-old Lynn Vanderhall, 29-year-old Melissa Vanderhall 29-year-old Janel Simpson were discovered early Saturday in a home on Perry Street in Hempstead.

Investigators say Bobby Vanderhall had been kicked out of his house by his mother and was homeless, causing him to become enraged.

He took a framing hammer from the garage, broke into the home and attacked the group of women, according to police.

Bobby Vanderhall stayed in the house for a short time before fleeing, and was apprehended within a two-mile radius of the scene sleeping in a car, said Nassau County Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick.

Police say he had been removed from the house with emotional issues twice previously and taken to a medical center.

"The most beautiful memory of my daughter was her smile, her love, she was so protective of me," said Wendy Simpson, the mother of one of the victims.

"Beautiful, outstanding people, that's what I want the world to know," said a family relative, Juanita Johnson.

Another family friend fought off the suspect in the midst of the chaos and ran into the street to beg for help.

She was hospitalized in stable condition.