(WHDH) — A 59-year-old man is facing a charge of murder after police say he bludgeoned his 91-year-old mother to death with a sledgehammer because he wanted to shield her from learning information about the “awful crimes” he had committed.
Charles Trumble, 59, of Portage, Indiana, is slated to be arraigned Friday in Porter Superior Court on a charge of murder in connection with the death of his mother, Dixie Trumble, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
Trumble called police just after 7 p.m. on Sunday to report that he had killed his mother with a sledgehammer, according to court documents obtained by the newspaper.
“He stated that he was in the living room and his mother was in the same room,” the documents said. “He further stated that he killed her because he is about to be exposed for committing awful crimes,” charging documents revealed.”
Officers responding to Trumble’s home reportedly found him lying on the ground with a phone in hand next to his mother’s body. A small blood-soaked towel was said to be placed under her head.
After Trumble surrendered to officers without incident, he allegedly said, “I am about to be in trouble for some really bad stuff, and I killed her so she wouldn’t be exposed to it.”
Investigators found a short-handled sledgehammer inside the home, police told the newspaper.
Trumble is being held without bond.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)