A Bushkill Township man has admitted to fatally shooting his elderly in-laws last year at a senior citizen community in Palmer Township.
Xiaomin Fei, 35, of the 500 block of Roberts Road, was initially charged in June in the deaths of his mother-in-law, Gretchen Ackerman, 75; and his father-in-law, Robert Ackerman, 74.
Both were found shot in the head. Robert Ackerman was pronounced dead at the scene; his wife was taken to the hospital but was dead on arrival, the DA’s office said.
Fei was charged with two counts of felony criminal homicide; one count felony burglary; two counts misdemeanor weapons possession; and one count misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
Fei pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of first-degree murder. Court records show the burglary and weapons charges have since been withdrawn in the case.
Northampton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Craig A. Dally then sentenced Fei to two life sentences to run consecutively in state prison, without the possibility of parole.
Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta announced the plea and sentencing Thursday afternoon. Nuria Diluzio, the county’s chief public defender who was assigned to Fei, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Township police on June 3, 2025, responded to a domestic disturbance at the Highlands at Glenmoor, a development in the first block of Glasgow Way. The Highlands is an age 55-and-over community with about 250 single-family and attached homes.
A 911 dispatcher reported hearing screaming, children crying, and two men yelling. One person said, “Think about what you are doing” and the other man responded, “I’m not thinking,” court records state.
While en route, officers learned a second 911 call was made by a female neighbor telling dispatch she feared Fei was going to kill his wife and her children and he was armed, court records state.
Fei was found by investigators at the front door of the home with a gun in his right hand, pointed at his head, the affidavit of probable cause stated.
After numerous commands from police, Fei eventually dropped the gun and was taken into custody on the front sidewalk of the house.
Two boys were found behind a closed door on the main level of the home. They were screaming, crying and yelling, police said.
The children were taken to a neighbor’s home by police. No one else was found inside the residence.
Fei in an interview with investigators said he was fighting with his wife over a pending divorce and received the papers the same day as the killings.
Fei claimed he was being kept from seeing his two elementary-age children. Additionally, Fei’s wife at the time was pregnant with a third child, the DA had said.
Fei said he was locked out of the home by his wife and in-laws and broke a front door window with a hammer, court records stated.
Fei told police he then drove to a gun shop and purchased a revolver and ammunition before heading straight to the home.
Fei admitted to investigators in interviews he entered the home with a loaded revolver, walked toward his in-laws and started shooting.
Robert Ackerman was a retired speech pathology professor at East Stroudsburg University. A post on the university website recognized Ackerman for 30 years of service in 2015 as a speech pathology professor.
The case was investigated by Palmer Township police. It was prosecuted by Northampton County Deputy District Attorney Debra G. Naish and Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Derek P. Richmond.