An 18-year-old Alabama woman has been charged with the beating death of her 70-year-old grandmother on Saturday.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a motorist who was flagged down by a woman claiming that Jailen Mia Lupton had killed Diane Trest, according to a report by WALA.
Arriving deputies found Trest dead in the home’s front yard with head trauma. A mallet was seen near the body.
A local resident informed police that Lupton had entered her house forcefully, pushed her aside, and demanded her car keys, claiming she had just murdered her grandmother. Cheryl Edwards, a witness, recounted to WKRG how she observed Lupton approaching her porch around 7 p.m. on Saturday.
“She approached the porch, shoved me, and declared, ‘I just killed my grandma, give me your keys, give me your car, I have to leave,’” Edwards stated.
Edwards said she pushed Lupton back.
“She goes down, and I grab my mop. I started beating her with my mop, so, she finally jumps off the porch,” she said.
Edwards said she had been concerned for Trest for some time.
“We chatted across the fence,” Edwards said. “I mean, she told me about her children, her sons and her daughters and her grandchildren, and she said they’re troubled.”
Edwards said her concerns for the elderly woman grew over the 10 years they lived side by side.
“She’d come over, she’d have cuts on her, bruises. She said the dogs did it. I said ‘Diane, that’s not the dogs,’” Edwards said.
Deputies later found Lupton and arrested her, although they didn’t say where or when they located her. She has been charged with murder and burglary. Jail records show no bond.
