FENTON, Mo. — A 78-year-old woman removed her 51-year-old daughter from a nursing home, then fatally stabbed her in a suburban St. Louis hotel before attempting to kill herself, police say.
Marjorie Theleman was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of her daughter, Sharon Theleman, after police were summoned to a hotel in Fenton, Mo., because the pair had not checked out.
Sharon Theleman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother, who attempted to suffocate herself with a plastic bag, remained hospitalized Wednesday but was expected to recover, according to a police news release.
Police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said she had no information about why the daughter was in a nursing home. Court records show that Marjorie Theleman was appointed in 1989 as a guardian for her then-21-year-old daughter, who was described as an “incapacitated person.”
Thomas Zotos, the attorney for Marjorie Theleman in the guardianship case, didn’t immediately return a phone message from the Associated Press on Wednesday. It wasn’t clear whether she had an attorney in the criminal case who could comment. Her bond was set at $250,000.
She left a typed note explaining her actions and a handwritten note telling housekeeping to call police, according to the probable statement, which police cited in their news release. Police did not reveal any additional details about what was in the note.
Police classified the case as a “murder/attempted suicide.”
