Anyone see the news from Arizona about the 92 year old lady who shot and killed her son on Monday because she believed he was going to move her to assisted living? She also assaulted the son’s girlfriend before the gun was taken from her and she was arrested. What a sad turn of events, really makes you think...
This a planned murder as the mother had gotten out 2 hand guns and placed the guns into her robe, then went into her son's bedroom to shoot him.
I expect this will draw a lot of attention from a lot of different areas of caregiving. While I understand that she displayed intent to kill, I still feel sorry for her that she was under so much stress, or so unable to consider another place to live that she felt she had to kill her son.
On the other hand, we really don't know much about the family. One thing I would wonder about is a 92 woman who has 2 handguns and still knows how to shoot. I plan to keep up my shooting skills, but for burglars or others who might try to physically harm me.
But I can't imagine how the accused thought that killing her son was going to better her situation. That appears to indicate a lack of reasoning skills.
Wow. Take good care of yourselves out there and do a sweep of your houses so that these hard case elders cannot get their hands on weapons. So tragic.
The news stated that the Mom had moved into the couple's condo six months ago from out-of-state.
Right now, the Mom is sitting in jail and her cash bond is $500,000. Heavens, I am surprised she was even offered a bond with a murder, and attempted murder case. It will be an interesting case to follow.
What really bothers me though are the issues surrounding end of life placements and care for our parents. There are still a lot of gaps in care coverage.
This is a very interesting case.
Facilities cannot have residents w/felonies or out on bail as too much liability.
I’d guess locked state psych unit till trial unless she has a huge amounts of $.
I agree with everyone above, mental health care in our country is sorely lacking and senior care options are inconsistent, it all needs vast improvement. Can’t imagine this lady’s plight now
Dusti - remember her wanting to keep out Honey's gun from the safe so he would not be mad? This is what your decision to lock it up prevented in your house - not that your Honey is almost 100 or demented, but it reduced the possibility to 0. Good job, Dusti!
Everybody loses. What a terribly sad series of events.
When I realized my dad was developing dementia one of the first things I did was get rid of the guns. Had to argue with mom on the issue also. She felt safer if Dad at least had his little pistol.
Then had to trick Dad. Told him grandkids always hoped they get to use those shotguns and deer rifles. Had BIL play this up a little and it worked. Dad handed them over. Can’t hardly go at him with....BTW, since you’re demented now I’m taking the guns....
I disabled the cheap pistol and stuck it back in its hiding place cause Dad would still check on it occasionally. Then got rid of it as dementia worsened.
Then the Mom pointed the gun at her son's girlfriend, who at 57 was able to wrestle that gun away from the Mom. Then Mom produced the second gun she had in her pocket and aimed this second gun at the girlfriend, who once again was able to get the gun away.
The Mom had no remorse that she had killed her son.
This story probably happens more than is reported but is written up as “accidental”. This one too public..... 3 charges: 1st degree murder, aggravated assault AND kidnapping. $ 500,000.00 cash only bail. Cash @ 1/2 M = they don’t want her out.
The kidnapping charge was totally perplexing to me, like what she drove someone off in her car or just what would cause kidnapping charge on a 92 yr old?? The. kidnapping didn’t make sense, so I deep dived.... Mrs. B, age 92/93, (btw everybody’s name & addresses are on-line) had lived in FL with her hubs since 1992; widow in 2007; and the 2 guns (a revolver & .25 pistol) were bought by her late husband in FL. Guns fell. off registration list. Mrs B moved with guns from apt in Kissimmee, FL to live with her son (72) on his property in Black Canyon City, AZ in 2017. Sonny sold property - closing 5/29/18 for $135k - just recently. His girlfriend (57) lived in Fountain Hills, AZ in a condo (300/350k avg sale price, upscale complex with pool, spa, fitness center) community. Mrs B was an interim guest at GF condo till Mrs B room at the AL was to opened this month. Condo in Fountain Hills is not in a elder CCRC but a planned, gated community. Condo was not Mrs. B’s home, she did not own it. Sonny did not own it, his long term GF owned it.
On day of shooting, Sonny & GF were going out and Sonny went into the guest room to tell his mom they were leaving. Mom was in her bathrobe with a loaded gun in each pocket. It was premeditated, planned. She had to load the guns. Mrs B fires revolver & it goes through his neck & head, he’s down. GF runs in and Mrs B points gun at her and then attempts to shoot Sonny again with revolver. GF wrestles gun away and it gets thrown to far side of room. GF goes to Sonny, who is dying. Meanwhile Mrs B pulls out the .25 pistol from other pocket and attempts to shoot GF. GF manages to get 2nd gun from Mrs. B. One news outlet has it that Mrs B went after & tried to get gun #1 off the floor. By that time cops are in the gated community onto way into GF condo. When cops enter GF condo, Mrs B seated still in her robe.
“Kidnapping” charge as Mrs B confined GF against her will for / during a unlawful purpose. Mrs B held GF during the facilitation of a crime.
Mrs B probably has no assets. $ 1/2M cash, I can’t see anyone putting that much up. Probably locked psych ward at state hospital or state women’s prison.
When making my parent's home safe during Dad's growing dementia, there was a lot more to consider than just guns! Although a very few people with dementia will use a gun if it remains available; most are going to use anything that's in reach at the moment they lose it to hit or stab or throw. Removing or securing as many of these items as possible is needed. I still remember deciding to remove chairs based on whether my father could still pick them up.
This lady also planned the killing - bet there's dementia here too.
The prior domestic disturbance calls would be interesting to read for the backstory on this. So far have not been able to google up even when I’m in my best Veronica Mars & Nancy Drew mode.
There is a great debate in our country about guns. I will not continue that debate here. But there is no debate that guns cannot be in possession of people with dementia.
That 92 year old women was very effective with her guns. If she’d used a ball bat or knife her son might have had a chance.
That 92 year old woman planned her close range attack. If she had used a kitchen knife to stab her son in the chest or upper abdomen he could have died just as easily as from a small caliber handgun shot - neither are a sure thing.
I would add that guns should not be accessible, available to or in the hands of people with anti-social thoughts, or the kinds of people who've lashed out in anger at others....which unfortunately could encompass drivers with road rage as well.
And this would turn on the issue of restricting gun sales, but only from dealers. From what I understand, the obligations on private sellers aren't as stringent as they are from commercial dealers.
I recall an incident that occurred several years ago. The house next door was being repaired, including with a new roof. The so-called contractor, a "county contractor "who got jobs by being on the county's home improvement contractor list, was a youngish (20'ish) kid who was more impressed with being a "county contractor" than with doing a good job.
Example: Instead of actually working with his crew, he was wandering around, soliciting business and expressing his religious thoughts, while one of his workers was crouched at the edge of a roof, leaning over to trim tree branches encroaching on the house. That poor kid was lucky he didn't fall off the roof and break his neck.
The so-called contractor was NOT acting as a professional contractor. He didn't act as if he had anti-social problems (other than lack of professionalism and being an offensive religious nut and preaching to me), not that that's justification for physical harm. He just wasn't cognizant of spaces he shouldn't invade. But that shouldn't have made him a target.
Another time (when I wasn't home), I later learned that he had walked on the lawn of the hermit neighbor, whose only interaction I ever noticed with other neighbors was to flirt with another young, attractive, married neighbor (several years his junior). He was obsessed about order though; he had removed some landscaping, replaced with gravel, mowed his lawn every week if it needed it or not. I used to wonder if he measured the grass height to ensure that it didn't grow more than he allowed.
So I assume that someone standing on his precious grass was a cardinal offense to him.
Based on what I was told, apparently the reclusive neighbor went inside and came back out with a handgun, and threatened the so-called contractor. Six police cars were there as soon as they were called.
Obviously this man should not have had access to weapons. He didn't have dementia, but he was reclusive, antisocial, grouchy, and for whatever reason just didn't seem to like people. (Fortunately he died a few years later and his risk to the neighborhood was eliminated.)
Second Amendment debates will probably rage endlessly and never be resolved.
I intend to keep some guns for protection, but I also have a baseball bat and a couple of really good knives that I keep bedside. And once, years ago, I actually almost had to use one of the semi-autos when someone tried to break into my apartment.
I feel safer with guns in my possession, especially since the long ago attempted break-in incident and the burglary of about 11 years ago.
I don't recall if life was this violent when I was growing up, or it was just that there wasn't as much news coverage of the mass shootings. There does seem to be an increase in expressed aggression, but perhaps that's been aggravated since the 2016 elections.
I think on this thread we're seeing cultural viewpoints, as well as the issues of safety. I'm not a southerner, so this next statement is based on "information and belief". But I do think that guns are integrated into the lives of people in the South, especially in rural areas, more than they are in the North. Still, even in the North, hunters buy, use and keep guns regularly and are more accustomed to having them around.
And now that wild animals are in more contact with humans, people to animal encounters are more frequent. But the people to people encounters are perhaps more dangerous to a larger number of people.
Disclaimer: the comments posted here are not intended to challenge anyone; they're an attempt to see both sides of the issue, which probably will never be resolved anyway.
It is very strange thinking to say I'm going to ruin your life because you ruined mine with the additional intention of killing herself after killing the girlfriend as I read in an article.
She likely did not like the girlfriend?
Obviously some mental illness, you can see how angry she is when you look at her. No remorse at all. Just so sad that the mental illness was missed and ended in tragedy.
Apparently if someone points a gun at a person, thus holding them against their will, that is considered kidnapping.
The difficulty is that if gun ownership become effectively illegal, the *only* people who have them are the wrong people; and the "right" people, moreover, don't know how to handle situations that involve them. And that doesn't work either.
In an ideal world, it seems it has to be either everybody or nobody armed. In Switzerland it is (or used to be anyway) everybody; they still have their disasters but I believe not quite so many.
In the case of this poor, poor family, at first I was thinking they ought not to have let the lady get so frightened, then; but it seems that the son and girlfriend were trying their very best on that score too. It's just awful. Poor people.