A man in Michigan has been arrested under suspicion of a felony murder of his mother and stealing her money to gamble.
James Robert Hall, 39, was arrested on November 26 by Holly Police Department after his 59-year-old mother Kristine Lynn Hall was found dead in her bed in the Village of Holly, Michigan. The body was found by her brother, lying in bed fully clothed and initially appeared to have been due to natural causes.
However, closer examination by officers on the scene revealed bruising on the victim’s neck and evidence of a struggle. The brother of the victim told the police that Kristine had allowed her son to move in with her roughly six months earlier, but that she was afraid of him, slept with her bedroom door locked at night, and didn’t let him drive her vehicle, which was missing at the time of Kristine’s death.
Hall had an open felony warrant for breaking and entering. Kristine’s vehicle was soon detected in the Jackson, Michigan area. The victim’s daughter also told police that Hall had reached out to their father and confessed to killing his mother.
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety took James Hall into custody under the open felony warrant, after officers found him in the parking lot of a store after the retail clerk notified them that a man using the store phone was talking about attempting suicide. While talking with the officers on the scene, Hall once again admitted to killing his mother.
Holly Police Department officers interviewed Hall at the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety facility, where he confessed to killing his mother for the third time. According to a report from the police department, Hall stated that on the evening of Monday, November 24, he had a conversation with his mother where she told him off “for his life choices and for not amounting to anything”. Hall confessed that he climbed on top of her and used a pillow to smother her to death.
After the alleged murder, he stole money and jewelry from her before fleeing in her vehicle. He reportedly drove to the Kalamazoo area and called his father to confess to the crime for the first time. He then used the stolen money to gamble at a local casino before being taken into custody.
A felony murder charge could result in a life in prison
The cause of death was ruled as homicide by strangulation and suffocation on November 26, the same day that Hall was taken into Holly Police Department custody and arraigned for one count of felony breaking and entering with intent.
On December 10, Hall was arraigned again for charges related to homicide. He is facing three felony charge counts: murder in the first degree with the potential for life without parole; unlawful driving away in a motor vehicle with the potential for five years imprisonment, and larceny in a building with the potential for four years imprisonment.
“On behalf of the Holly Police Department, we offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family who loved and cared for Kristine,” said Chief Narsh of Holly Police Department. “I am proud of the dedication and determination of our officers who worked continuously to bring closure to this case in less than 24 hours. We are also very thankful for the assistance from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
“James Hall was angry his mother was parenting him…so he killed her. He took the life…that gave him life. Then he took her money, her jewelry and her vehicle because he was challenged on his life choices. Then he went to a casino.”
Violent crimes can be linked to gambling-related crimes, especially when linked to an illegal gambling rings, as happened in multiple cases across the States.
Featured image: Holly Police Department
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