Anna Mae Blessing

 

I feel as if I do not do cases such as these often because there is really not a conclusion of sorts. That is also the reason that I do not do a lot of unsolved cases. If someone dies awaiting trial by law there is not a conviction. In fact, if someone dies while their case is under appeal the same happens. Leonard Fagot is a perfect example of this. If you were ever into “true crime” movies you know who Leonard was. If you do not recall or do not know who that is you can find my blog from 2016 here:https://truecrimediscussions.blogspot.com/2016/11/leonard-fagot.html

With that all being said I just could not resist doing this case. I remember when I heard about this case on the national news and was shocked, although I suppose I have to wonder why that was the case. Anna Mae Blessing was a ninety-two year old woman who readily admitted shooting her seventy-two year old son because he was planning to put her in an assisted living facility. Anna Mae had lived with her son, Thomas and his girlfriend, Julie for about six months in their Fountain Hills Arizona home when the murder was committed on July 2, 2018.

It was not clear as to exactly the reason why Anna Mae had moved in with Thomas and Julie but presumably it was due to Anna Mae's age and health but it appears those six months were less than tranquil for either of them. Authorities had been called several times due to violence between mother and son and both had expressed that they were fearful that the other would become violent.

On July 2^nd Thomas and Julie had gone to bed. Anna Mae, who had been in her room hid two pistols in the pockets of her robe and entered their room to confront them while they were sleeping. She would later tell authorities that the couple had come home from a vacation and had ignored her and it had angered her. It is unclear for certain if Anna Mae actually spoke to Thomas before shooting him but she would later claim that Thomas had “lunged” at her at some point. He was shot several times.

Anna Mae then turned the gun towards Julie, who wrestled the gun away from her and threw it in the corner. Anna Mae was not deterred, she simply pulled out the second gun. Again the two women struggled until Anna Mae lost her grip. Julie made a 9-1-1 call where she reportedly stated, “Help me! Help! She's going to shoot me! She's going to shoot me!” When authorities arrived at the home Anna Mae was sitting in a recliner in her bedroom. She told law enforcement officers that she wanted to kill herself but she didn't have anymore weapons. That being said authorities would find thirteen guns, including Anna's two pistols in the home.

While being interviewed Anna Mae would say she did not remember why she removed the gun from her robe and stated “I didn't want to go to a nursing home and he would promise me I never would have to.” Throughout the interview it was said that she showed little to no remorse for her actions. At some point she was asked if she felt bad about pointing the gun at Julie and she stated “Yeah, kind of. But she's part of the trying to get me put in a nursing home too.... so I don't know that I feel that bad.”

After her arrest Anna Mae's only granddaughter told reporters that she believed her grandmother should be released from custody “where she could have her dignity back.” Anna Mae was charged with murder and remained in jail. Her case had several delays due to her failing health. Then in November she suffered a stroke and was placed under hospice care. Her trial was set to begin in March of 2019. In late January prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed against Anna Mae due to the fact that she had died. It was not made clear in the petition just when she had died but according to www.findagrave.com her death occurred December 5, 2018.

The ironic thing about the entire story is that she murdered her son to prevent going to a nursing home and yet her last days were spent first in a jail and later in a facility likely much like she was attempting to prevent from going to. Although I guess we can freely admit that obviously Anna Mae did not think her decisions all the way through considering one has to wonder what she thought would happen to her if she shot her son. I can only presume that if there were other family members available to care for her that they would have done so prior if for no other reason than to prevent her from having to be placed in a nursing home, but also to prevent the stress and tension that was occurring between mother and son. The fact that no one stepped up indicates that Anna Mae did need to be placed in a facility and needed more care than could be provided by someone at home. To add to this her son was in his seventies, physically and mentally he likely had his own issues that prevented him from properly caring for someone else, especially someone who was apparently resistant of care that was needed. I just highly doubt that the tension between the two ended at trivial things. It is likely that it involved other things that may not have just put Anna Mae's safety at risk but also that of Thomas and Julie and the fact that she was willing to take a gun and shoot her son over the issue of a nursing home probably means there were issues over things like cooking and showers and day to day routines. It is hard enough to live with other people, especially those with strong personalities but when you add age, fragility and mental health it can be unbearable.