GARFIELD (KFSM) – A Garfield woman died after she was shot by her mentally ill son on Monday (July 31), said Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith.
The incident occurred at a home near the 16000 block of Smith Ridge Road at about 3 p.m.
Jenkins said the suspected shooter, Patrick Malone, 20, is in custody. He is facing charges of capital murder.
The victim was identified as Christel Malone, 44, the suspect's mother.
The victim's husband notified deputies about the shooting and told them that his son was mentally ill. When deputies arrived at the home, they found Christel Malone lying on the floor of the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds, according to an incident report. Patrick Malone was sitting outside on the front porch.
After his arrest, Patrick Malone told officers that he was eating lunch while his mom was watching the baby, and then he changed the baby's diaper while his mom was in the other room. Then he told deputies that he didn't want to remember "the horrible thing" because he didn't want to cry, the report states. When pressed, he said it was what he was at the station for, shooting his mom. Then he started crying and said he didn't know why he did that.
Later during the interview, Malone told deputies that while he was changing the baby's diaper, he started thinking about times when his mom would call him names in the past. He said that they hated each other, and thinking about it filled him with rage.
Malone told deputies that when his mom walked back into the room, he shot her. He said he heard flashes and bangs, and then he heard a clicking noise when the gun was out of bullets.
When asked about punishment, he told deputies that he thought he needed a prison or mental institution to help him, according to the report.
Malone also told deputies that he had been thinking about shooting his mom for five or six years.
Patrick Malone's bond was set at $250,000.
Marvin Farar lives just down the road from where the shooting happened.
In the past 20 years that he has lived there, he said he has never seen something like this happen so close to his front yard.
Farar was working on his car when he first saw something that didn't seem right.
"Then the sheriff come by and the neighbors pickup right behind him," Farar said.
Not long after that, he saw more deputies drive past his home.
He wasn't sure what was going on but knew it was serious.
Farar said they have seen deputies out in the area before.
Usually though he said the area is pretty quiet.
"It's pretty quiet that's why we bought out this way," Farar said. "Mailman and utility vehicles is about all that comes."