A New York woman charged with murdering her mother called the police after the attack and admitted to the crime, according to multiple reports.
Skydajah Patterson said, “I just killed my mom,” to a 911 dispatcher following the incident inside a third-floor Bronx apartment on Monday morning, the New York Post reported.
Police allege that the 26-year-old used a kitchen pot to beat Selma Mclean, leaving her unresponsive with injuries to her head. The victim was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead.
Patterson, who claimed she was defending herself, was taken into custody this week. Atlanta Black Star contacted the New York Police Department for comment.
Family members told the New York Daily News that Patterson’s mental health took a turn after she gave birth to a stillborn last summer. Before the attack, she was recently discharged from a mental health center.
Danaeyah Reynolds said the 46-year-old victim expressed that she was afraid of Patterson moments before she was killed.
“[Patterson] was in a psych ward in February until last week,” Reynolds said during an interview with the Post. “She started hearing voices and started speaking in a man’s voice last night. My godmother said she was afraid.”
When Reynolds, Mclean’s goddaughter, got to the apartment unit, she “just saw blood” at the scene.
This is not the first time Patterson allegedly got into a dispute with McLean. According to NBC New York, her mother had called the police on two other occasions. A previous attack happened in February.
“It was with knives that time,” Reynolds added, per the Post. “The demons, the voices in her head were telling her, ‘Your mom is out to get you; your mom is a bad person — watch out for her!'”
As the Daily News reported, Patterson recently got her bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University in 2022 and was also an award-winning collegiate athlete. She was recognized as the 2019 Spalding National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Despite the incident, Reynolds says she plans to be by Patterson’s side: “I am going to be at court for every court date [Patterson] has. That’s my sister. I don’t want her to feel like she’s alone,” per the outlet.
