Fifteen-year-old Connor Wood was cool and collected Wednesday as he entered a not guilty plea in a Concordia Parish courtroom.

But the mood around him was just the opposite. Members of the courtroom audience became visibly tense when the jumpsuit clad Wood entered the room, escorted in chains by a deputy sheriff.

The Ferriday teen is accused of three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents John and Jeri Wood and 16-year-old Matt Whittington.

The boys lived in the same neighborhood and were reportedly friends. Wood has been home schooled since elementary school. Whittington was a student at Cathedral School in Natchez.

Following Wood’s plea, District Attorney John Johnson and Assistant District Attorney Brad Burget handed over copies of all evidence to Wood’s lawyer, Paul Lemke.

Police were called to the Wood house in Ferriday’s Woodland Subdivision early on March 14. Connor Wood reportedly placed the 911 call. The Wood couple and Whittington had all been shot multiple times and were dead when authorities arrived. Connor Wood was arrested that day.

He was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder by grand jury May 7. First-degree murder is the intentional killing of a person.

Because Wood is a juvenile, he is not eligible for the death penalty.

Wood will face a trial of motions July 25.