Judge Ted Limpert asked Huff if he found the charges funny, and Huff replied that he had a joke stuck in his head. Huff denied shooting his son in the face but confessed to both killings, which were carried out with a 12-gauge shotgun. The murders followed a disturbing phone call from Jeremiah to his mother, Samantha Gallup Peltier, shortly before the killings, though the content of the call remains unknown. Huff fled the scene but was apprehended by state police the next morning around 9:30 am. Huff's stepfather was also targeted in the attack, though further details are unclear.
According to defense lawyer Shaun Chase, several experts concluded that any mental incapacity stemmed from Huff's voluntary use of alcohol or drugs. Prosecutors said it remains unclear whether Huff had taken any substances on the night of the killings, but Huff was declared fit to stand trial. Huff pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges to avoid a first-degree murder conviction; in New York State, parole can be granted for such convictions. His sentencing date has not yet been confirmed.