Thedailymiaminews– A Pennsylvania man is incarcerated for allegedly killing his mother, who was bedridden and dependent on an oxygen machine.
According to court documents, 40-year-old Chad Walburn was charged by prosecutors this week with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his mother, Phyllis Elaine Walburn, 63, in October. According to her obituary, the older Walburn passed away on October 31 at a hospital in Erie “after many years of health issues.” But police considered her death to be a homicide.
A probable cause arrest affidavit that the Erie Times-News was able to get states that on October 23, the Erie Police Department received a report regarding a man who was refusing to leave a residence. Officers discovered Chad Walburn, the unwanted visitor, inside his mother’s house. She was found unconscious and drenched in her bed by police, according to reports. Her neck was discolored, and it seemed like someone had removed her oxygen line from her nose. Police said that the equipment was unplugged and turned off.
Chad Walburn allegedly acknowledged removing his mother’s oxygen tube, shutting it off, and removing the plug after Miranda. According to the complaint, he then showered her with water from other containers, including a small garbage can. Chad Walburn allegedly stated that his mother needs to die when asked why he did this. After being taken to the hospital by paramedics, she passed away eight days later.
According to the Times-News, the Erie County Coroner declared her death to be a homicide. In the days following the event, Walburn was charged with aggravated assault. According to the newspaper, however, the coroner’s subsequent inquiry revealed that respiratory failure brought on by the deliberate removal of oxygen was the cause of death.
On Friday, Walburn was charged with murder and arraigned.
Erie police Deputy Chief Rick Lorah told local ABC/Fox affiliate WJET, “There were a lot of moving parts to this investigation so we just wanted to make sure that everything aligned with obviously the coroner’s report and our detectives’ investigation.” “At this time, the official coroner’s report is out, listing it as a homicide, and those charges were obviously filed after consulting with the district attorney’s office.”
A South Dakota man is facing charges after his girlfriend’s head was discovered in a garbage bag the day after she texted a friend to report that her boyfriend had threatened her with a weapon, and her beheaded body was discovered inside her apartment.
According to a news release from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Craig Allen Nichols Jr., 32, is charged with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree murder in connection with the death of Heather Ann Bodden, 41.
According to an affidavit, the victim’s friends discovered her beheaded body Thursday when they went to check on her at her apartment on Memory Lane in Yankton, which is roughly 80 miles southwest of Sioux Falls.
Police discovered “what looked to be a deceased headless person” inside.
One of the victim’s friends reported to police that she had not heard from the victim for more than twenty-four hours and that she had gotten a text message from the victim the day before stating that her boyfriend, whom she named as the suspect, had threatened her with a weapon.
The night before the deceased was discovered, two men were seen entering the apartment at 9:59 p.m., according to video footage taken from the outside of the apartment complex.
When the men left the residence at 11:02 p.m. on Wednesday, they admitted to detectives that they had been using drugs with the suspect and the victim, who was still alive.
According to court records, further surveillance footage showed Nichols leaving and coming back to the apartment many times between 2:50 and 6:44 a.m. on Thursday.
He had locked himself in his apartment when he was taken into custody.
According to the documents, “wet shoes with reddish brown substance on them” were found during a search of his apartment.
Her head was discovered by police at Bodden’s flat in a trash bag that matched the color of the bag on the CCTV footage.
According to the affidavit, “bloody male clothing” was also discovered in a plastic grocery bag. According to the affidavit, a label on the underwear in the plastic grocery bag partially said, “CRAIG N.”
Near the garbage bag that held Bodden’s skull, police also discovered three guns wrapped in a floor mat.
According to the affidavit, Nichols requested a lawyer and refused to give a urine sample, stating that “he wished to go to sleep.”
According to a GoFundMe website, Bodden leaves behind a daughter who is twelve years old.
The page stated, “Heather Bodden was cruelly and tragically taken from us by someone who claimed to care about her.” “The family is regrettably unprepared for everything that comes with organizing a funeral at this time and is understandably startled by this loss. We are collecting money to help pay for Heather’s cremation and memorial ceremony because she lacked life insurance. Any money left over will go toward supporting Heather’s daughter Lily.
The page went on to say, “Heather was a bright spark in this world.” Because she was always prepared with a joke or a sharp retort, her friends and family admired her quick wit. Her mother Pat was her dearest friend in the world, and she adored her daughter Lily unconditionally.
With a $500,000 bail, Nichols is being held at the Yankton County Jail. On Wednesday, he will appear in court.