An 18-year-old in Arizona was responsible for the murder of his mother and attempted to falsely report her as kidnapped in order to conceal her death.
Every morning, James Richey engages in his routine run near Hunt Highway and Bella Vista road. On one particular occasion, as he was jogging through the field, he made a startling discovery – a lifeless body lying exposed in plain sight.
As he approached, it was then that he observed the object beside the lifeless figure.
Richey shared that she saw a knife with broken pieces and blood on it. Instantly, it clicked in her mind that she was looking at a crime scene.
Richey wasted no time and immediately dialed 911, prompting the swift arrival of Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies just a few minutes later.
According to Lieutenant Ross Teeple, they were in the process of identifying the woman when they received a 911 call from a neighboring area. An 18-year-old informed law enforcement that his mother had been kidnapped.
Teeple explained that upon their arrival at the scene, they swiftly established a connection between the two calls.
Upon examining the mother’s ID card, it was found to be a match with the body. After conducting a thorough investigation, it was revealed that there was no kidnapping involved. The authorities suspect that the teenager, who is 18 years old, may have been responsible for the death of his own mother, Mary Collier. It is believed that he falsely reported the kidnapping in an attempt to divert suspicion away from himself.
According to Teeple, there is no evidence to support the claim of an actual kidnapping. He suggests that the couple left together willingly, but the woman was later attacked and abandoned in the desert.
The unidentified teen son is now potentially facing charges of first-degree murder.
“I can’t understand how someone can be filled with so much rage and anger that their immediate reaction is to take someone’s life. Especially when that someone is their own mother,” Richey expressed with disbelief.