Florida man charged with killing his mother using gun, bow and arrow

[December 01, 2014]  By Kevin Murphy
 
 (Reuters) - A Florida man was charged with murder on Sunday after police found his mother dead and with arrows sticking out of her head while she sat slumped over in a chair, police said.

Michael Watkins, 42, killed his mother, Gloria Watkins, 65, who was found at their home early on Sunday morning in Mary Esther, Florida, said the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in a news release and arrest report.

A deputy responded to a call from next-door neighbors of Watkins who said someone was knocking over Christmas decorations in their front yard and yelling, the sheriff’s office said.

When the deputy arrived, the neighbors said some people had argued next door, where the deputy found Gloria Watkins dead and Watkins wielding a large knife, according to the arrest report. Watkins put down the knife but officers had to use a stun gun after he resisted handcuffing, the report said.

Watkins pointed to his mother and said, “You see that, that’s death,” the arrest report stated. Watkins said he killed his mother because she was going to kill him first, that he shot her in the head three times, stabbed her with a knife and shot her with a bow and arrow, the report said.

Watkins also said he killed his mother because she stole his diamonds and gave his father cancer, according to the report.

Watkins is charged with premeditated first degree murder and resisting arrest without violence, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held in jail and arrest records do not state whether he has a lawyer in the case.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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