Blackwood Man Killed His Mother, Fled In Her Car: New Documents

BLACKWOOD, NJ — A Blackwood man was charged with murder last weekend after his mother was found dead in their home, authorities said.

James Doran, 30, was charged Saturday with first-degree murder in the death of Lillian Doran. He had blood on his clothing and a baseball bat in the trunk of his mother's vehicle when police found him and arrested him later that day in Pennsylvania, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office (CCPO).

Gloucester Township police had received a 911 call at 10:21 a.m. Saturday about an unresponsive woman inside a home on the 100 block of Fairmount Avenue. Lillian Doran, 65, was found dead on a bedroom floor, according to the CCPO. She suffered apparent blunt-force trauma to the back of the head, authorities said.

Witnesses told detectives that James and Lillian lived in the home with other family members. On the previous evening, the suspect and victim argued about James Doran "cutting a tattoo off of his leg and walking around the house with a baseball bat," according to the affidavit into his arrest.

A witness heard banging sounds and a garage door opening at about 4 a.m. Saturday, according to the criminal complaint. Detectives noted that Lillian's vehicle was missing and James was no longer at the residence.

Police found James Doran driving Lillian's vehicle in Bedford — a town in south-central Pennsylvania. As Pennsylvania state troopers attempted to stop Doran, he sped and tried to elude them, the CCPO said.

The suspect was arrested at 5:10 p.m. Saturday and placed in the Bedford County Correctional Facility, with a pending extradition hearing.