92-Year-Old Woman Accused of Shooting and Killing Son Who Wanted to Put Her in an Assisted Living Facility
A 92-year old woman has been arrested after the fatal shooting of her son in Arizona on Tuesday, July 3. Anna Mae Blessing now stands accused of murder, after she reportedly used two pistols to kill her son after refusing to go to an assisted living facility.
Blessing is now under custody where she awaits court proceedings for one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, according to the press release put out by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on the same day.
According to Maricopa authorities, the incident happened Tuesday afternoon at the East El Lago Boulevard in Fountain Hills, Arizona, as deputies responded to an emergency call in the area on Monday, July 2.
By the time the deputies have arrived at the scene, Blessing had allegedly shot and killed her 72-year-old son at the time, according to the police report that called the sight "a bizarre turn of events" where the old woman "took her son's life after she believed he ruined hers."
The account of what happened came from Blessing herself, as recorded by detectives after the crime. According to the woman, she had been thinking about her son's plan to put her in an assisted living facility where she is to spend the rest of her days.
At the time, she allegedly took two handguns and hid them in the pockets of her robe, before turning to find her son. In the confrontation that followed, Blessing admitted that she pointed and fired the handgun at her son, firing multiple times.
She then shifted her gun to her son's girlfriend, who was at the scene by that time. Before she could fire, however, the unnamed woman was able to wrest away the weapon and was able to disarm her again after Blessing reached for the second pistol.
Authorities found her sitting on a recliner in her home as deputies barged into the house. Her bond was set at $500,000, according to NBC News.