A 53-year-old woman in Maine was arrested over the weekend for allegedly killing her 93-year-old grandmother and her grandmother’s 69-year-old partner, brutally stabbing the couple to death inside the older woman’s home. Tzara Jones, who was her grandmother’s caretaker, was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with two counts of murder in the slayings of Aremean Mayo and Michael Willett, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Maine State Police, deputies with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office at about 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25 responded to a residence located on Fuller Lane in the town of Denmark in regards to a request for a welfare check on the elderly couple living in the home. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they found the male and female — later identified as Mayo and Willett — dead inside of the home. Both victims appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest.
Tzara Jones (Maine State Police)
“The two deceased individuals were transported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta where autopsies were performed on Sunday, November 26, 2023,” state police wrote in the release. “Both deaths were determined to be the result of homicide.”
Authorities also found Jones on the scene, identifying her as “the caretaker of the deceased individual,” and said she was transported from the residence to a hospital for a medical evaluation. She was subsequently charged with two counts of murder and booked into the Oxford County Jail.
Court documents obtained by Poland Spring, Maine ABC affiliate WMTW provided additional details surrounding the circumstances of the alleged double-murder.
According to the report, deputies said that when they initially arrived at Mayo’s home they were greeted by Jones, who told them that Willett was not home because he had gone out to hunt. However, investigators soon learned that Willett required a wheelchair to get around and was incapable of hunting.
When authorities asked Jones if they could look inside the home to check on the elderly couple, she reportedly became combative, telling the sergeant in charge that he was “a mongrel” who should “get down on his knees and pray,” according to WMTW
Inside, investigators reportedly found Mayo’s body near the home’s entryway. She had been stabbed at least 10 times and was determined to have died at least 24 hours before her body was discovered. Deputies recovered a bloody butcher knife next to her body, the report states.
Willett’s body was reportedly found inside one of the bedrooms and had suffered three stab wounds to the chest. He too was determined to have been dead for at least 24 hours.
In an interview with police, one of Jones’ family members said that the 53-year-old had moved in with her grandmother several years ago and that Willett had joined them in the residence over the summer, per WMTW. The family member also reportedly claimed that Jones had complained about having to care for both Mayo and Willett but had refused the family member’s offer to help with the workload.
Jones remained in detention as of Monday and is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on Tuesday.
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