A Thornton man is facing a charge of first-degree murder after police said he beat his 66-year-old mother with a hockey stick and killed her in their home, according to an arrest affidavit.
, 35, also was arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, the Thornton Police Department said Tuesday.
Thornton police were called to the home in the 1900 block of West 101st Avenue on Thursday afternoon to check on Debra Lynn Thompson after her boyfriend, who lives out of state, called law enforcement because he hadn’t been able to get in touch with her.
Officers told him they did not have a legal reason to enter the home forcibly, according to the affidavit. One of Thompson’s sons again called 911 on Friday morning because he had not heard from her in several days and told police that they normally talked every day and she had severe health issues.
Police again said they could not enter the home. Thompson’s son then hired a locksmith to open the deadbolt, which is when the locksmith told him it seemed someone inside was trying to stop the deadbolt from opening, according to the affidavit.
Thornton officers entered the home at 10:40 a.m. and found a sofa table was barricading the front door. As they searched the house, the locksmith told police he saw a man running from the property with a large gun.
Thompson’s body was found in a garbage can that was hidden in the corner of the garage, covered in a fabric grill cover and stacked with boxes.
Her body and head had significant trauma, and there were large amounts of blood on the garage floor and spattered on the walls, according to the affidavit. It appeared she had died one or two days before.
Investigators also found bloody fragments of a wood hockey stick at the scene and matching wood fragments in Thompson’s hair.
Her exact cause of death is still being determined, police wrote.
Family members told police that Pittman, who lived with his mother, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of violent behavior when not medicated.
Pittman turned himself in to police on Monday and is being held without bail at the Adams County jail, according to court records. He is set to appear in court Friday for a filing of charges hearing.
Pittman is being represented by the state public defender’s office, which does not comment on criminal cases.
