California Mother Killed By Son With Baseball Bat On Christmas Morning In Gilroy, California

A man in Central California was arrested Tuesday over fatally beating his 70-year-old mother with a baseball bat on Christmas morning, local authorities said. The 39-year-old son, Matthew Salewske, was booked and sent to Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of murder after police collected physical evidence and conducted interviews at the home where the incident occurred in Gilroy, California, roughly 70 miles south of San Francisco.

Police were dispatched to the home in response to a 911 call they had received about domestic abuse occurring there Christmas morning, according to the San Francisco Chronicle Tuesday.

When deputies arrived at the home around 11 a.m. they discovered Claudia Salewske barely alive and suffering from injuries including serious head trauma. Paramedics rushed the mother to a local hospital, but she was pronounced dead a few hours after arriving.

Claudia Salewske had been an active member of the Gilroy community, having written books about the town titled "Pieces of the Past: A Story of Gilroy" and "Gilroy: Images of America." Along with having been a lecturer at San Jose State University’s English Department from 2000 to 2013 and a teacher at Gilroy High School, she had also served as a leader within the Gilroy Historical Society.

The head of the Gilroy Historical Society, Connie Rogers, told local reporters that Claudia Salewske was a "very gracious, thoughtful person who was always looking for others who needed a little extra helping hand.”

The investigation is ongoing and police have yet to find a motive, Sgt. Rich Glennon of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said.

There had been at least five other cases of domestic violence reported to law enforcement in Central California since Nov. 14. The latest incident occurred on Dec. 20 when an 18-year-old man was arrested over attempted murder in Pacific Grove, 120 miles south of San Francisco, for stabbing a family member inside an apartment.

Commander Rory Lakind of the Pacific Grove Police Department told local reporters it was “rare” for the California community to witness a crime of such a “violent nature.”