Inset: Allison Hatton (Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Florida where Hatton allegedly tried to kill his family (Google Maps).
A 73-year-old Florida man is facing charges after allegedly attempting to murder his wife and daughter. Authorities claim the man stabbed his 69-year-old wife in the neck and threatened his daughter, expressing a desire to “end everyone’s suffering” and send them “up to heaven.”
The suspect, identified as Allison Hubert Hatton, was arrested over the weekend. He is charged with attempted felony murder, aggravated battery on a person over 65, and assault with intent to commit a felony, as indicated by court documents.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies from the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office responded to an emergency call around 4 a.m. on October 11. The call originated from a home on the 2700 block of Shadeville Road in Crawfordville, Florida, approximately 15 miles south of Tallahassee. Hatton’s 42-year-old daughter made the call, reporting that her father had stabbed her mother, who was “bleeding profusely.”
Upon arrival, authorities disarmed Hatton and took him into custody without further incident. His wife had suffered a laceration and two puncture wounds to her neck and was promptly taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for medical treatment.
During an interview with detectives, Hatton’s daughter recounted being awakened by her mother’s cries of “stop” and “don’t do it.” She described finding her father standing over her mother with a knife in hand.
“[The daughter] said she entered the living room where her mother was seated in her chair, where she typically sleeps,” the affidavit stated. “[The daughter] said she saw her father standing over her mother with a knife in his hand. According to [the daughter], she managed to get the knife away from Mr. Hatton. However, Mr. Hatton then went back into the kitchen and retrieved a second knife. Mr. Hatton then advised [his daughter] that if she didn’t let him kill her mother, he would kill her too.”
Hatton had never been diagnosed with a mental disorder and regularly sees doctors at the VA, the daughter told investigators. However, she said he had recently been refusing to eat and was receiving nutrients through a feeding tube. His doctors said there was “nothing mentally wrong with him, he just didn’t want to eat.”
Hatton had also exhibited other concerning behavior of late, per his daughter, who “advised Mr. Hatton has been talking to God out loud the last several days, in which he purportedly asked Him, ‘if this isn’t right, tell me.’”
The daughter said she “didn’t know to what [her dad] was referring to until today.”
In a post-Miranda interview, Hatton allegedly confessed that “he was tired of everyone suffering and intended to kill his entire family, including the dog.” He added that he was “trying to get ’em up to heaven,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a news release.
Inside the home, police said they recovered the two knives used in the alleged attack and found blood throughout the house.
Hatton was transported to the Wakulla County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday.
