Missouri woman plays video games in her recliner, then her son comes home and allegedly shoots her with what he took from the kitchen

A 72-year-old woman in St. Louis, Missouri, was tragically killed while playing video games on her laptop, allegedly by her 54-year-old son. As detailed in a probable cause statement by Fox News 2 from the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department, the incident occurred at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, inside the victim’s home off Highway 221 in the Lake Hanna community.

Joey Skaggs, 54, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action after police alleged he fatally shot his mother, according to a press release from the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the home at 5:23 p.m., where they found the woman dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities stated that Skaggs had been collecting scrap metal with his stepfather on the Lake Hanna Development property earlier that day. At around 3 p.m., he entered the home shared by his mother and stepfather and retrieved a .22-caliber rifle from the kitchen.

No clear motive on why he shot his mother to death

According to police, Skaggs said he could see his mother from the kitchen as she sat in a recliner in the living room, playing video games. He told investigators he stood three or four feet behind her before shooting her in the head and fleeing on foot. Police later recovered the rifle and a shell casing at the scene.

Police later spotted Skaggs walking along a highway near the development. He lived in a separate building on the property and was arrested without incident. Skaggs was booked into the St. Francois County Adult Detention Center, where he is being held without bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.

The case remains in its early stages as investigators continue to gather evidence. Police have not released any information regarding a possible motive.

Under Missouri law, first-degree murder is classified as a Class A felony and is punishable by either death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or probation. Armed criminal action is an additional charge applied when prosecutors allege that a dangerous or deadly weapon was used in the commission of a felony, according to The Hartley Law Firm.

In Missouri, a sentence for armed criminal action must be served consecutively, not concurrently, with the underlying felony sentence. Sentencing length varies based on the defendant’s number of prior offenses, and probation is not permitted for any of these convictions. Additionally, there is no maximum sentence for each armed criminal action conviction.

Another widely publicized Missouri case of matricide involved Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, who was convicted in the murder of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard. In June 2015, Gypsy-Rose conspired with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to have him kill her mother at their home in Springfield, Missouri. Gypsy-Rose was initially charged with first-degree murder, but ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a ten-year prison sentence.