Woman confesses to killing 97-year-old mother after being denied assisted suicide: 'We had discussed death with dignity'

A woman in Florida confessed to suffocating her mother after she was denied assisted suicide. The 97-year-old suffered from Parkinson's disease and a thyroid disorder, Martha Jo Blake, the woman's daughter, told deputies. The case unfolded after Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to a home on Ashley Drive on Friday for a death investigation. They found 97-year-old Patricia Blake dead, lying on her back and covered with sheets. Martha told the deputies that she last saw her mother alive at 10 pm the day before. She also briefed them about her health issues.

An autopsy was carried out, which raised suspicion about the manner in which the woman had passed away. They were consistent with homicide instead of a natural death. According to the medical examiner, the woman's skin had a purplish tinge, largely on the nose. It seemed like something had been placed on the woman's face. There was also eye haemorrhaging, which is associated with suffocation, and a broken neck.

Martha was questioned and confessed to killing her mother

The police checked bodycam footage and found a red mark on the side of Patricia's neck. A search warrant was issued, and when the police reached the woman's house, they found Martha there with her friends. They questioned her once again, and this time got a confession. She revealed that around a year and a half ago, they talked to her mother's doctor about "death with dignity". But the doctor refused an assisted suicide since it was only possible in case of a terminal illness, according to the criminal probable cause affidavit.

The mother and daughter discussed suicide by pills, but whatever they had wasn't lethal, so they dropped that plan. The investigation led police to find probable cause to book Martha Jo Blake on a charge of first-degree murder, and she is currently at the Palm Beach County Jail.