Man charged with killing his mother
A 21-year-old man fatally stabbed his mother and slashed his grandmother early yesterday in the women's Bensalem Township home as 911 operators listened over the phone, authorities say.
A 21-year-old man fatally stabbed his mother and slashed his grandmother early yesterday in the women's Bensalem Township home as 911 operators listened over the phone, authorities say.
Emergency dispatchers heard the killing take place during a call placed by the 90-year-old grandmother, Margaret Hughes.
"Bucks County radio could hear yelling, screaming and it sounded like an individual on the other end of the phone was being attacked," a probable cause affidavit said.
The attacks occurred during an argument, according to Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons. Its nature has not been confirmed, she said.
Township police officers found the body of Ellen Hughes-Bygott, 56, inside the front door of the house on Wildman Avenue in the Cornwells Heights section of Bensalem. She had been stabbed repeatedly in the chest, neck and head shortly after 6:30 a.m., Gibbons said.
Officers arrived within minutes and arrested Patrick Hughes-Bygott of Abington, who was walking away, across the front yard. He was being held without bail last night in the Bucks County Prison, charged with criminal homicide.
Montgomery County court records show the suspect was arrested July 14 in Abington on harassment, stalking and drug charges. He was free on $150,000 bail, awaiting a Sept. 12 preliminary hearing. No details were available yesterday about the earlier incident.
Gibbons said the man brought three knives with him yesterday: a switchblade and two with 8-inch blades. Both 8-inch knives were found near the body with bent or broken blades. The switchblade apparently was not used, she said.
The suspect went to the home and argued with his mother, Gibbons said. His grandmother, who owns the house, was cut on the arm and hand when she tried to intervene, the district attorney said.
Bleeding, the older woman retreated to a bedroom and called police. She was treated at Frankford Hospital-Torresdale Campus and released, Gibbons said.
Theirs was a family in transition and tumult.
Ellen Hughes-Bygott filed for divorce May 29 from James Bygott, Montgomery County Court records show. Hughes-Bygott had moved in with her mother to care for her, Gibbons said.
