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| Anna Mae Blessing |
In what MCSO described as a "bizarre turn of events," Anna Mae Blessing is facing one charge each of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
Deputies were called out to the Fountain Hills home where Blessing had been staying with her son, Thomas, and his girlfriend at about 10 a.m. Monday.
"According to statements provided by suspect Blessing and received by the detectives, she had been contemplating for several days her son’s intentions to place her in an assisted living facility," explained a news release from MCSO. "Blessing retrieved two pistols and concealed them in the pockets of her robe then confronted her son in his bedroom."
MCSO said she shot her son twice before turning the gun on his 57-year-old girlfriend.
While struggling with that woman, whose name has not been released, Blessing lost her grip on the gun. But she still had the second one.
"Blessing retrieved the second handgun and attempted to point it at the girlfriend, who knocked it from Blessing’s possession," according to MCSO.
The girlfriend is the one who called MCSO.
She told deputies Thomas and Blessing had been living with her in her Fountain Hills home for several months.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they ordered Blessing to come outside but were met with silence.
"As deputies continued clearing the residence, they located the [Blessing] seated in a recliner inside her room [and she] continued to disobey commands," according to the arresting officer.
"As the suspect was being escorted from the residence, she made a spontaneous statement to the effect of 'You took my life, so I'm taking yours,'" court documents read. "(It was later determined during an interview with the suspect, she believed her life was being taken as a result of her son ... and his girlfriend ... attempting to place her into an assisted living facility.)"
According to the probable cause for arrest statement, Blessing "intended to kill herself, however she didn't possess any additional firearms."
In speaking with Blessing, investigators learned that she had had the two guns -- a revolver and a .25 caliber pistol -- since the 1970s. The first she said bought at a gun store; the second was given to her by her husband before he died. She also told deputies the last time she fired either of the weapons was in the '70s.
"The suspect stated she stored the two handguns on the floor, under a shelf in her bedroom," according to court documents.
"The suspect was asked what she thinks should happen to her, which she replied she should be 'put to sleep' as a result of her actions," the arresting deputy wrote in the probable cause statement.
"This is definitely an odd one," MCSO Sgt. Bryant Vanegas told Arizona's Family. "There's a lot of circumstances surrounding it, of course, but it's definitely something you don't see every day and it's very unfortunate that this took place."
[Blessing] made a spontaneous statement to the effect of 'You took my life, so I'm taking yours.'
~ Court documents for Anna Mae Blessing
"It is always concerning when domestic issues escalate to violence or tragic outcomes," Sheriff Paul Penzone said in a statement. "They are often isolated and neither predictable nor preventable."
According to court documents, there was a history of domestic violence between Blessing and Thomas, including at least one incident in which police responded.
"I don't know the incidents, but I know that we've responded there before," Vanegas said.
A judge set a cash-only appearance bond for Blessing in the amount of $500,000 and scheduled a status conference and preliminary hearing for later this month.
[PDF: Anna Mae Blessing's court documents]
Arizona's Family
Full Article & Source:
MCSO: 92-year-old Fountain Hills woman shot, killed son over assisted living plans
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