A Wareham man has been charged in connection with two stabbing deaths that occurred overnight at the White Pines Motel on Cranberry Highway, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz and Wareham Interim Police Chief Richard Stanley.

Richard Walling, 20, has been charged two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of Leonard Bolia, 35, of Wareham, and Ryan P. Aponte, 24, of Wareham.

The circumstances surrounding the stabbings are unclear.

Phone messages left for White Pines owner John D'Italia were not immediately returned. Employees working at the White Pines Motel declined to comment.

Wareham Police responded to a call that a man had been stabbed at the White Pines Hotel at approximately 12:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a press release from the Plymouth County District Attorney's office. Police responded and found the victim, later identified as Leonard Bolia, outside the motel.

A White Pines resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and others heard a door get kicked in somewhere in the motel, and eventually stepped outside to see what the commotion was.

"We heard a bang," he said. "We came outside and there were cops everywhere."

Upon examining the scene, the resident said he saw a victim, now known to be Bolia, lying in the parking lot in front of the motel. The resident said he's only lived in the White Pines for a few weeks, and was shocked by the event.

Bolia appeared to be suffering from multiple stab wounds to the chest, according to the press release. He was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead shortly after. An autopsy will be conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Later Saturday morning, investigators found a second body in a wooded area near the motel. The victim, identified as Ryan P. Aponte, also appeared to have suffered stab wounds, according to the press release. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

Walling will be arraigned on Monday in the Wareham District Court. The case remains under investigation.

It is currently unclear whether Walling has previous criminal history.

According to a Wareham Police log dated July 10, 2010, Bolia was summonsed for carrying a firearm without a license, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a firearm and a motor vehicle), felony possession of a firearm, and threatening to commit murder, after he allegedly pulled a firearm on a person in the area of Swifts Beach Road. It is currently unclear what became of those charges.