INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) - A 38-year-old Independence man has been charged in the fatal beating of his mother.
Jackson County authorities say Lucas Mauritzen was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Court records indicate his mother, Tamera Rainey, was found dead Saturday at an Independence home.
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Court records say Mauritzen told a detective he hit his mother throughout the day Saturday and did not try to help her when had trouble breathing. After she died, Mauritzen left and slept at a friend’s house. Mauritzen reportedly told a detective he went back to the home Monday and then went to a neighbor’s house, where he allegedly said “I had to put her down.”
Online court records don’t identify an attorney for Mauritzen.
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