JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville woman has been arrested after a police report revealed she admitted to killing her elderly mother with a metal baseball bat.
Tammy Spruell, 51, is charged with second-degree murder.
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Police say they responded to a house on Tortosa Court on Jacksonville’s Westside on Monday for a reported suicidal person.
According to a report, witnesses told police that Spruell said “her life no longer has any value” before getting into her car and leaving.
That’s when police went inside the home and found the decomposing body of Spruell’s mother, Beryl Spruell, who was in her 70s.
The report says back in March, a man went to the home after Spruell complained of water coming up from the floor. That man told police while he was there, he noticed the master bedroom door was closed.
The report says Spruell told the man, “My mother is sleeping, and we do not disturb her.”
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According to the report, when police searched the home Monday, they saw what appeared to be blood spatter on the door and a trail of blood leading to Spruell’s mother. It’s unclear from the police report when the killing occurred or how long the victim’s body was left there.
The report says during the investigation, police stopped Spruell in her car and took her into custody.
In an interview, Spruell admitted to killing her mother with a metal baseball bat, saying she struck her mother in the face and continued to strike her.
The report says Spruell dragged her mother into the bathroom and covered her face, leaving her on the floor.
Neighbors didn’t want to go on camera Thursday. One neighbor said she finds the incident very disturbing.
Action News Jax also reached out to the man who visited Spruell back in March; we’re waiting for a response.
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