ALBANY, N.Y. — A 53-year-old man confessed during a live television interview to killing his elderly parents and burying them in the backyard of their Albany home eight years ago, authorities said.

He was arrested moments after leaving the studio.

Lorenz Kraus admitted Thursday to suffocating his parents, Franz and Theresia Kraus, ages 92 and 83, in what he described as “mercy killings.”

The revelation came a day after police recovered two bodies from the home while investigating reports the couple had continued receiving Social Security benefits despite disappearing from public view.

“They knew that this was it for them, that they were perishing at your hand?” anchor Greg Floyd of CBS6 asked during the half-hour interview.

“Yes,” Kraus replied. “And it was so quick.”

Kraus initially hesitated before acknowledging that he had killed his parents, describing it as an act to spare them suffering.

“I did my duty to my parents,” he said. “My concern for their misery was paramount.”

He said his mother had been injured in a fall and his father had lost his ability to drive after cataract surgery.

He did not claim either parent was terminally ill.

Kraus was arrested on two counts of murder as he left the station.

He pleaded not guilty at a Friday hearing, where a public defender represented him.

Interview arranged through statement

The confession came after Kraus sent a two-page statement to local news outlets, prompting CBS6 to invite him in for an interview.

News director Stone Grissom said Kraus told him over the phone that he had buried his parents in his yard but refused to admit to killing them.

Once on set, Kraus broke down after persistent questioning, describing in detail how he suffocated both parents.

“I just followed the script that he laid out,” Floyd later told The Associated Press, calling it the most unusual interview of his 45-year career.

A plainclothes officer was present in the studio lobby during the interview, and Kraus was taken into custody immediately afterward.

Investigation began with fraud probe

Authorities said the case originated as a financial crimes investigation into whether Kraus had been illegally collecting his parents’ Social Security benefits. Police said he had used the funds for personal expenses.

Neighbors told reporters they believed the couple had moved back to Germany years earlier. Their disappearance was never reported to police.

Assistant Public Defender Rebekah Sokol said Friday she would examine whether Kraus’ televised admission could be admissible in court, raising questions about the role of the media in the investigation. — Agencies