Inset: Richard Praytor (El Paso Police Department). Background: The Texas home where cops say Richard Praytor killed his mother in 2023 (KTSM/YouTube).
A Texas man choked his mother until she passed out, dragged her into a garage and suffocated her — then put her head underneath a car and “squished” it with a front tire, cops say. He allegedly wrote about the slaying in an unreleased novel.
Richard Praytor put on “the best acting of his life” when police arrived at an El Paso home and found his mom, Maria Enoe Praytor, dead in the garage near the sedan he allegedly used to crush her head, according to an arrest affidavit obtained this week by local NBC affiliate KTSM, which includes statements Praytor made during an alleged confession.
The 52-year-old is charged with murder for the 2023 killing.
“How did you end up underneath the car?” Richard Praytor recalled saying out loud about his mom after officers showed up, according to the affidavit. He later allegedly confessed that he had been performing for police at the time.
“What the f— is going on?” Richard Praytor allegedly continued while standing in the garage with cops, according to the affidavit.
Police say Richard Praytor later confessed to attacking his mom until she “was no longer alive.” He allegedly ambushed her from behind and put her in a chokehold until she passed out, then dragged her body to the garage.
After noticing she was still alive, Richard Praytor allegedly pinched her nose, covered her mouth, got on top of her and counted to 100. He then “intentionally” ran over Maria Praytor”s head and dressed her in new clothing, according to the affidavit and a police press release.
Richard Praytor allegedly admitted that he tampered with his mom’s blood and put it on his hands to throw off investigators, the affidavit says.
Maria Praytor’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, but her manner of death was initially ruled an accident, according to the affidavit.
On Aug. 27, authorities were informed that a woman on Long Island, New York, walked into a police precinct and claimed Richard Praytor told her he killed his mom and wrote a novel about it that he had saved on his computer. She said she had met Praytor on Facebook, and she provided police with specific details that had not been released to the public about the case, according to the affidavit.
Investigators obtained a recording of an alleged phone conversation between the woman and Richard Praytor. According to the affidavit, Richard Praytor admitted he had deliberately put on an act when police arrived and claimed only one other person knew what happened to his mother. He also allegedly said he tried to tell a priest.
Richard Praytor claimed he did not want to confess to police because “nothing would be done” since Maria Praytor’s death was “already considered an accident,” according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 14, Richard Praytor was arrested in Colorado by the Colorado Springs Police Department. He agreed to voluntarily speak with cops and admitted to killing his mother because “she was sick” and he needed to get back to his kids in Colorado Springs, the affidavit says.
Richard Praytor allegedly admitted to choking and pinching Maria Praytor’s nose before he “squished” her head with the car. He said he put the sedan in neutral and “let the vehicle roll back” on his mom’s head, according to the affidavit.
Richard Praytor was extradited to Texas and is being held at the El Paso County Detention Facility on a $1 million bond.
