Arizona Mom, 92, Kills Son Over Nursing Home Plans: Authorities

FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ — When a 72-year-old Fountain Hills man tried to put his 92-year-old mother in an assisted living home, she pulled out a pistol hidden in her robe and shot him to death, authorities said. Now, she's been charged with first-degree murder.

After learning of her son's plans, Anna Mae Blessing hid a pair of handguns in her robe and confronted him in his bedroom at their home Monday, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said in a release. The home is located near North La Montana Drive and East El Lago Boulevard.

Blessing then pulled a gun on him and fired off multiple shots, striking him several times, authorities said.

"She then pointed the gun at her son’s girlfriend and the two struggled over the weapon when it was dislodged from her hand," the sheriff's office said.

Blessing pulled out the other gun and tried to point it at the girlfriend, who knocked it away. The girlfriend then contacted authorities who eventually took Blessing into custody.

"From my understanding, she had thought about it for a few days because there was a dispute regarding her son wanting to put her in an assisted living home," Sgt. Bryant Vanejas told KPHO.

Blessing reportedly waited for deputies by taking a seat in a recliner and said something like 'You took my life, so I'm taking yours,'" court documents alleged.

“It is always concerning when domestic issues escalate to violence or tragic outcomes,” Sheriff Penzone said in a release. “They are often isolated and neither predictable nor preventable.”

Blessing is charged with murder, aggravated assault with
a deadly weapon and kidnapping.

Photo credit: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office