A 24-year-old man told police in Florida that he lured his mother into an apartment and beat her with a hammer before fatally stabbing her.
Logan Lopez told investigators on Saturday that he had planned the killing for a year, Clearwater police said on Twitter.
Officers responded to a 911 call from a neighbor around 5 p.m. on Saturday. She told dispatchers that she could hear a woman screaming in a nearby apartment at The Palms at Countryside.
Police found 53-year-old Mary Beth Lopez dead inside the apartment.
Illich-Hailey told reporters Logan lured his mother to his apartment, asking her to drop off his mail, which had been sent to the family address. Logan also allegedly had said he wanted to show his mother his furniture.”
As she came inside, he closed the door, he came up behind her, and he struck her with a hammer,” Illich-Hailey said. He then allegedly stabbed Mary Beth with a knife multiple times.
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Logan Lopez told responding officers and later homicide detectives that he had lured his mother to his place for the purpose of “putting an end to her,” a news release said.
Logan Lopez was booked into the Pinellas County Jail early Sunday. He’s facing a first-degree murder charge.
Police said that while Lopez did not have any criminal history. But, he had previously been held involuntarily for mental health treatment under Florida’s Baker Act.
He retained public defender Margaret Russell.
“We are saddened by this tragic incident,” Chief Assistant Public Defender Greg Williams said on behalf of Russell in a statement. “Mr. Lopez was just arrested, and no formal charges have been filed by the prosecutor.”
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