Pennsylvania Man Kills Mother, Steals Her Car To Go Buy Heroin, Charged

A Pennsylvania man was arrested Monday in connection with the death of his mother who was found dead in her Berks County home this past weekend. The man is accused of killing his mother and stealing her car thereafter to go buy heroin.

Jakob Murray, 22, murdered his mother, Jill Murray, 47, in their home in the 200 block of North Brobst Street in Shillington, a Reading suburb, The Daily Voice reported.

Murray was arraigned Monday on a slew of charges including first-, second-, and third-degree murder; aggravated assault; robbery; strangulation; theft; and possession of an instrument of crime, Crime Online reported, citing court documents.

Authorities said that Jakob, after strangling his mother, realized that she wasn't dead and retrieved a kitchen knife with which he cut her throat. An autopsy determined Jill died of the neck wound. Jakob is currently being held without bail.

Investigators told the outlet that Jakob cut his mother's throat, stole her car and credit card, and drove to Philadelphia to buy heroin. He was arrested in Philadelphia, Leigh Valley.com reported.

The incident came to light when Jill's boyfriend called her number but did not hear back from her and arrived at her residence to check on her. The man, who had a set of duplicate keys, went inside the house and found Jill dead on the living room floor. She had a knife on her chest and a cut on her neck. Jill's car was missing from the driveway.

After his arrest, Jakob confessed to strangling his mother and cutting her throat thereafter, WFMZ-TV reported. "He admitted to strangling her and then when he thought she wasn’t dead he got the knife out and cut her throat," Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Beohm said. "Everything aligned and we wrapped this thing up a little over 24 hours."

In a similar incident in October 2021, a 36-year-old man in Texas was arrested and charged with the killing of his mother after the latter's body was found dismembered in a wooden crate.

The victim, Lucila Barnes, 72, was found dead after deputies executed a search warrant inside the house. The man, initially, was uncooperative and gave conflicting statements but later confessed to killing and dismembering his mother. The motive behind the crime was unclear.