Florence Marie Marks, a 54-year-old county bookkeeper, had a compassionate nature, often taking in people she thought she could help. This kindness extended to her own cousin, 20-year-old Cris J. Beck, whom she had allowed to live with her in her Alexandria apartment for several months. However, Beck had a troubled history and a violent temper, leading to a series of disputes that resulted in him being kicked out.
Friends and family were aware of his volatility and the quarrels he had with Marks and her friend, William Miller.
The situation escalated tragically in a rooming house in the 2000 block of South Fillmore Street in Arlington. Police suspect that Beck fatally shot Marks and Miller in what became Arlington's first triple slaying. Another renter in the house, David Stuart Kaplan, a reporter and editor for Congressional Quarterly, was also killed, believed to have returned home at the wrong time. The motive for the killings of Marks and Miller was not immediately clear to police, though friends and family recounted Beck's violent tendencies. Marks had also suspected Beck of stealing jewelry from her.
Following the shootings, Arlington police contacted Beck at his mother's home in Philadelphia. He initially claimed to have been in Tennessee at the time. However, after detectives traveled to Philadelphia to interview him, his story reportedly changed, and he made statements about the case. Police also found Miller's missing Nissan Maxima in Philadelphia with several guns inside. Beck was subsequently charged with the first-degree murder of David Stuart Kaplan and was held without bail at the county jail. Prosecutors indicated that it was likely they would seek a capital murder charge and that additional charges related to the deaths of Marks and Miller would be presented to a grand jury.
