Crime & Safety
Martinez Woman Charged With Murdering her Mother
Christy Lee Southwick, 53, reported called police and said she "killed her mother and wanted to turn herself in."
By Bay City News
A woman accused of killing her mother at their shared home in Martinez last weekend has been charged with murder and inflicting injury on an elderly person.
Christy Lee Southwick, 53, appeared in court Thursday on charges stemming from the murder of her mother, 74-year-old LaJean Southwick.
An autopsy showed the victim's cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries including head injuries, a Contra Costa County coroner's deputy said Thursday.
Officers responded to the Southwicks' home in the 1500 block of Azalea Avenue on Sunday after Christy Southwick called police and said she "killed her mother and wanted to turn herself in," Martinez police Detective Ryan Baillie said.
The officers entered the home and found the suspect along with her mother, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was arrested and taken to county jail in Martinez. Bail was set at $1 million.
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