Crime & Safety
SMC Man Charged After His Ailing Mom Asked Him To End Her Life
"I know my client's not a criminal," his attorney said. "Nothing he did was done with malice or evil intent ... he shouldn't be convicted."
REDWOOD CITY, CA — A South San Francisco man made his first court appearance Friday to face attempted murder and elder abuse charges for allegedly trying to suffocate his mother after she asked him to end her life last year, San Mateo County prosecutors said.
Thomas Beck, 58, was arrested Thursday for the case involving his mother, 86-year-old Marie Beck, who suffered from Parkinson's disease and other maladies and allegedly told her son and daughters to stop feeding her so she could die, prosecutors said.
Thomas Beck moved in with his mother in South San Francisco to care for her over the last 18 years, according to the district attorney's office.
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On May 16, 2017, Beck allegedly gave his mother extra medication and tried to suffocate her by putting a pillow over her mouth for 10 minutes, prosecutors said.
Beck's defense attorney Charles Smith said Beck's mother asked him to suffocate her and it lasted "much less than 10 minutes."
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"He sat there stroking her cheek lovingly because he couldn't bring himself to do it," Smith said.
He added that while Beck was caring for his mother, he helped grow her estate and tended to her finances.
Prosecutors said Beck was unsuccessful in killing his mother, but she later died after he went to the kitchen and returned. Smith said Beck cooperated with police and told them about his unsuccessful attempts to kill her.
The San Mateo County coroner's office was unable to identify a cause of death, so Beck was not charged with murder, prosecutors said.
Smith said the case has been "brutal" for his client and Beck is struggling to process the charges.
"He loved his mother, his devotion to her was extraordinary," Smith said.
Beck was a financially well-off banker and cared for his mother after she became sick because his two sisters had families, according to court documents.
Beck's initial bail of $10 million was dropped to $1 million after the arraignment Friday. He did not enter a plea and is set to return to court on June 22.
"I know my client's not a criminal," Smith said. "Nothing he did was done with malice or evil intent ... he shouldn't be convicted."
— By Bay City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone
