Bucks man admits to killing his mother and hiding her corpse under furniture and garbage
William Ingram pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the death of his mother, Dolores, as well as drug offenses for running a sizable marijuana and psilocybin mushroom business out of their home.
A Northampton Township man who beat his elderly mother to death and hid her body in a pile of furniture and garbage, pleaded guilty to the slaying Monday.
William Ingram, 51, entered a plea to third-degree murder and related crimes for killing his 82-year-old mother, Dolores, as well as drug crimes for running a sizable marijuana and psilocybin mushroom-distribution business out of the condo they shared.
In a deal negotiated with prosecutors, Ingram avoided a trial on charges of first-degree murder, and the potential it carries for life in prison.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc Furber said that negotiation included an agreed-upon sentence of 26 to 54 years in state prison for murder, abuse of corpse, and related crimes. But Ingram’s sentencing for the drug crimes will be up to the discretion of Judge Stephen Corr at a hearing in February.
Ingram’s attorney, Riley Downs, said Ingram suffers from a schizoaffective disorder, which is being treated and managed through medication while he’s incarcerated.
During his plea before Corr, Ingram admitted to the murder, but initially seemed confused about some of the details.
Investigators said after beating his mother in the head, Ingram left behind a chaotic and gruesome crime scene, with blood spattered throughout the home’s living room. Ingram buried her body under a mountain of detritus, including a shattered aquarium that once housed his two pet lizards, which police found dead nearby.
Police found $53,000 among in the items piled on top of the victim, as well as six pounds of marijuana and packaged psylocibin mushrooms. More drugs and paraphernalia, including cases of marijuana vapes, hash, and edibles, were found in Ingram’s bedroom. A handwritten note advertised the prices for each item, according to Furber, the prosecutor.
Ingram stole his mother’s Honda Civic and fled Bucks County, driving four hours south to Washington, D.C.
Just before 1 a.m. the next day, police said, Ingram, wearing no clothes, approached a police officer who was sitting in his patrol car and used a skateboard to smash the car’s front passenger window. When the officer confronted him, he grabbed the officer, according to police. The officer pushed Ingram away, and he ran off.
Other officers caught up to Ingram about a half-mile away and took him into custody. He was charged with assaulting a police officer and destruction of property and was taken into custody.
While being questioned by police, Ingram admitted to killing his mother hours earlier after he said she hit him in the face, Furber said Monday.
He told the officers he left her body in their home.
“There’s tons of stuff thrown all over the place, I don’t know what the [expletive] I threw. ... there’s blood, just a big mess,” Ingram said, according to court filings.