The 14-year-old boy arrested in the Frisian village of Katlijk earlier this week has admitted killing his parents by stabbing them with a knife, the public prosecution department said on Friday.

No more details have been made public and it is unclear as yet what motivated the boy to attack his mother and father at their home.

The bodies of the 63-year-old man and 62-year-old woman were found by neighbours who share the property on Tuesday morning. The son, the youngest of three sons, was arrested on Tuesday evening.

The boy is currently being held in a youth prison. The public prosecution department said it would not release much more information about the case given the age of the boy. The court case, likely to take place next year, will also be heard behind closed doors.

Katlijk, close to Heerenveen, is a small village of just 600 people and the double murder has shocked locals. The family were not known to be a problem and were not involved with social services, the town’s mayor told the Leeuwarder Courant.