Idaho Man Kills Father Suffering From Alzheimer's With Pillow To Put Him 'Out Of Misery'

An Idaho man, who killed his father suffering from Alzheimer's disease, said he did so to “put his dad out of his misery,” court documents revealed.

According to police, 59-year-old Mark L. Hopson suffocated his father, Billy R. Hopson, to death with a pillow at their home in Lewiston on Sunday (June 7).

Police said Mark killed his 94-year-old father, who was an Alzheimer's patient, because he thought his dad “had no dignity left and he couldn’t watch him any longer.”

Mark’s sister, Debra Taylor, called police Sunday night and reported that her brother killed their father. According to the court records, “Mark told her he thought he could just suffocate him with a pillow and everybody would have thought he just passed away in his sleep but Billy fought back and bit Mark on the hand.”

Taylor, Mark, and Billy were watching TV on Sunday night. Mark and Billy continued watching TV after Taylor went to bed at about 8:30 p.m. At around 11 p.m., Mark came into Taylor’s bedroom, woke her up, and asked her “if she was with him,” according to the court records.

Taylor initially thought their father had gotten out of the house when he told her that their dad "was gone." Mark then told her that he suffocated their father to death using a pillow.

Taylor rushed downstairs to their father’s bedroom and found him lying on the floor next to the bed. Mark then asked his sister to help him lift their father back into the bed. Taylor agreed to do so as she knew Mark “was intoxicated and she was afraid he would harm her since she knew what he had done.”

Taylor, upon noticing that Mark’s hand was bleeding, offered to get a bandage. She grabbed her purse, her cellphone, and her dog before getting into her car and escaping the scene. She then drove down the street to inform the police.

When Lewiston Police officers arrived outside the home, Mark “casually walked past them toward the kitchen while officers were still outside,” court records said.

The responding officers entered the home by force and found Billy dead in the master bedroom, but failed to locate Mark inside the house. He was later located in the bushes next to the house. Since he wasn’t cooperative, the police had to use a stun gun to take him into custody.

Mark was charged with first-degree murder. A $1 million bond was set on him during his arraignment on Tuesday. The maximum penalty for first-degree murder in the state of Idaho is either life in prison or death and a $50,000 fine.