Couple arrested in drug theft murder in Plymouth Twp.

A married couple have been arrested in the fatal stabbing of a man in a car during what officials called a heroin theft in Plymouth Township on Monday evening.

Austin Parkinson and his wife, Lana Lare, both 20, of West Norriton, have each been charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the slaying of Chad Konata, 31, of Collingdale, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday. Both have confessed, authorities said.

Police responding to the crash of a 2012 Buick sedan in a parking lot on the 400 block of Ridge Pike about 5:45 p.m. Monday found Konata dead in the car, and an autopsy determined that he had been stabbed multiple times, officials said.

Authorities said Parkinson and Lare had arranged to meet Konata to buy drugs but, once inside the victim's car, Parkinson instead stabbed him with a "Nazi style" knife before fleeing with eight bundles of heroin valued at $800.

District Attorney Kevin Steele said Konata was "another casualty of the far-reaching opioid epidemic we're facing here in Montgomery County. This man was murdered for about $800 worth of heroin — $800."

Acting on a tip, detectives were able to identify the couple as suspects and viewed video showing the pair entering the emergency room at Einstein Montgomery Hospital, where Lare was treated for a cut hand a short time after the slaying, police said. Lare told police she was cut by her husband's knife while reaching over the victim.

Parkinson told investigators he was in "such a rage" he did not know how many times he stabbed Konata, according to his criminal complaint.

Both are being held without bail to await a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 1.