A Michigan man has been arrested after police say he killed his mother and stole her money and belongings to gamble.
James Robert Hall, 39, was taken into custody on November 26 by the Holly Police Department following the death of his mother, 59-year-old Kristine Lynn Hall. She was found dead in her bed at her home in the Village of Holly by her brother, and at first, her death appeared to be from natural causes.
That initial assumption quickly changed. Officers at the scene noticed bruising on Kristine’s neck and signs of a struggle. Her brother told police that she had allowed her son to move in with her about six months earlier, but she was afraid of him. He said she slept with her bedroom door locked, refused to let him drive her car, and that her vehicle was missing when her body was discovered.
Investigators also learned that James Hall had an active felony warrant for breaking and entering. Kristine’s car was later located in the Jackson, Michigan area. Police were further alerted when Kristine’s daughter reported that Hall had contacted their father and confessed to killing his mother.
Hall was eventually found by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety in the parking lot of a store after a clerk reported that a man using the store phone was talking about attempting suicide. When officers arrived, Hall again admitted to killing his mother and was taken into custody on the outstanding warrant.
During an interview with Holly police at the Kalamazoo Public Safety facility, Hall confessed for a third time. According to police, he said that on the night of Monday, November 24, he and his mother argued after she criticized his life choices. He told investigators that he climbed on top of her and smothered her with a pillow.
Police say Hall then took money and jewelry from his mother’s home and fled in her vehicle. He drove to the Kalamazoo area, where he again confessed to his father before using the stolen money to gamble at a local casino.
Kristine Hall’s cause of death was ruled a homicide due to strangulation and suffocation on November 26, the same day Hall was arraigned on a charge of felony breaking and entering. On December 10, he was arraigned again on homicide-related charges.
Hall now faces three felony counts: first-degree murder, which carries the possibility of life in prison without parole; unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle, punishable by up to five years; and larceny in a building, which carries a potential four-year sentence.
Holly Police Chief Narsh offered condolences to the family and praised investigators for their swift work. He said Hall killed his mother after becoming angry over being challenged about his life choices, then took her money, jewelry, and vehicle before going to a casino.
It is called guilt when parents refuse to stand up to their kids who are truly demonic
Why do people allow their loser kids to take advantage of them. She needed to have him find his own way, and if he fails, oh well. He is a 40 year old dysfunctional man.