Man Beat Mother To Death: St. Pete Police

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg man accused of beating his mother to death on Saturday was charged with second-degree murder, according to an arrest affidavit from the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Officers responded to a request to check on the welfare of a 60-year-old woman who lived in a home in the 5000 block of Third Avenue South around 11:30 a.m. Once inside, they found Harriet Owens’ body, police wrote in a Facebook post.

Several family members called police for the welfare check when they weren’t able to contact her, records show.

Her son, Jontrell Collins, who also lives in the home, was there when officers arrived, and they ordered him to go outside, police said. He was later arrested and charged with her death.

Collins beat and injured his mother with his fists and an unknown weapon, according to the police affidavit.

Owens had suffered multiple injuries, including some consistent with defensive wounds, police said.

While her death wasn’t premeditated, Collins’ attack was “imminently dangerous” and “evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life,” police wrote in the affidavit.