The investigation began after the woman’s daughter asked a neighbor to check in on her.
KEYSTONE, Fla. — A man has been charged with murder after deputies say he shot and killed his elderly mother inside the home they lived in, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman was celebrating her birthday.
According to deputies, their investigation began around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at a home on Colwood Drive in Keystone, an unincorporated part of Hillsborough County. A neighbor called authorities after reportedly checking in on 78-year-old Joanne Turrell following a request from Turrell’s daughter.
When deputies arrived to do an official welfare check, they found Turrell dead in the home. She had been covered with a blanket.
Joanne’s son, 53-year-old Douglas Turrell, lives with his mother and was found in a locked bedroom with a gun near him, deputies said.
Detectives said their investigation led them to determine Joanne had been shot and killed.
Douglass was then arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
“Our heart breaks for the friends and family of this woman whose life was not only tragically ended but done so at the hands of her son,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “Joanne Turrell was celebrating her 78th birthday. A time that should have been filled with joy and beautiful memories. Instead, we are now trying to piece together what resulted in it ending in such heartbreak.”
