Somerset Man Charged With Murder Of His 82-Year-Old Mother

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Somerset man was arrested for killing his 82-year-old mother inside a home they both shared, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson announced.

Dalton Chiscolm Jr., 60, of Haverhill Place, Somerset is charged with first-degree homicide of Roberta Ann Taylor, 82, of Haverhill Place, Somerset.

A 911 call made on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at around 10:46 p.m. reported a disturbance at a the home on Haverhill Place in the Somerset section of Franklin Township.

Chiscolm Jr. was found throwing various household items from a second floor window and yelling threats at officers when they arrived, according to the report.

Additional police support came to try to de-escalate the situation with Chiscolm Jr., but he refused to cooperate with the officers, according to the report.

Due to Chiscolm Jr.'s behavior police went inside the home to check on Taylor, who they found dead, police report.

Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. An autopsy, performed by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday, Nov. 8, noted the cause and manner of death as blunt force trauma to the head, ruling the death a homicide.

Chiscolm Jr. was taken into custody without any further incident and transported to an area hospital for medical evaluation.

Detectives from the Franklin Township Police Department, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigations Unit, and investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office investigated and processed the crime scene.

The investigation is still on-going in an attempt to determine the motive.

Chiscolm Jr. remained under police guard at an area hospital. Chiscolm Jr. will be transported to the Somerset County Jail once released from the hospital, pending a bail detention hearing.

Anyone with information relating to this homicide is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100, or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County CrimeStoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.888577tips.org or at www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE”. All anonymous Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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