Inset: Angelynn Mock (Sedgwick County Jail). Background: Wichita, Kansas, police investigate the scene after Mock was accused of fatally stabbing her mother (KAKE).
A onetime television news anchor is now facing the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison after admitting she fatally stabbed her 80-year-old mother in bed inside their Wichita, Kansas, home.
Angelynn Mock, 48, entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder in the killing of Anita Avers, prosecutors announced in a press release. She is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5 and faces a life term, with parole eligibility after 25 years.
The case had been delayed by questions over Mock’s mental competency following her arrest.
In January, Judge Jeff Goering found Mock incompetent to stand trial and ordered her to undergo treatment in a hospital setting aimed at restoring her competency. After reviewing the latest medical report, Goering ruled last month that Mock was competent to move forward in the criminal proceedings.
Wichita police were called shortly before 8 a.m. on Oct. 31 to a residence in the 1500 block of East Crowley. Officers said they found Mock outside the home covered in blood. Inside, they discovered Avers unresponsive in her bed with multiple stab wounds. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
According to a probable cause affidavit, blood was found throughout the house. Investigators also noted that several knives and a cheese grater were lying on a pillow near Avers’ body.
Mock told investigators she had gone to talk with her mother about a possible job when, she claimed, Avers was sharpening knives while sitting in bed. Mock alleged her mother moved toward her with a knife and said, “I know you’re f—ing Jesus Christ,” the affidavit states. Mock said she tried to defend herself and then grabbed a knife of her own.
“Angelynn said her mother ‘started spewing venom at me out of her f—ing mouth,’ so she had to stab her to save herself,” cops wrote.
The defendant was inconsistent with her story about who attacked whom first, detectives noted. She told investigators she wanted to speak to an attorney, so the interview concluded. She had several lacerations on her hand and was treated at a hospital.
Investigators spoke with Avers’ husband and Mock’s stepfather, who was at work at the time of the incident. He detailed Mock’s mental health struggles, saying she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which exhibits schizophrenia and mood disorder symptoms. She had previously spent time in a mental hospital, he said. Mock also would sometimes be in a delusional state, saying “they’re all robots” and “they’re not real people,” per the affidavit.
Mock’s stepdad told police she lost her job at a local news station where she was an anchor after an “explosive situation involving alcohol.” He described Mock’s relationship with her mother as “back-and-forth,” but the two were close. The defendant was taking her medication, as far as he knew.
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The stepdad recounted the night before the slaying, saying there was nothing out of the ordinary. He said his wife was in bed when he left for work.
While in custody, Mock apparently made several statements while talking to herself, calling her mom the devil.
“I’d kill that b— to have my mom back any day,” she allegedly said. “I don’t even know who she is anymore. I know, I believe she is the devil.”
Local ABC affiliate KAKE obtained audio from 911 dispatchers that said Mock claimed self-defense.
“Calling party stabbed the mother to save herself,” dispatchers reportedly said.
KAKE spoke with a neighbor who said Mock came running up to her and her boyfriend when they were in their car.
“There was a woman who approached our vehicle with like blood, like her hands were filled, her body was filled with blood, asking to call 911,” Alyssa Castro told the TV station.
Mock begged Castro’s boyfriend for his phone to call 911. When he gave it to her, she ran back into the home, Castro said.
“I asked her if she was OK, and she was pretty shaken up and she seemed scared, and she just ran off,” Castro said.
According to local CBS affiliate KMOV, Mock was a former morning anchor for KTVI, the Fox station in St. Louis, from 2011 to 2015.
Avers was a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist with some 20 years of experience, according to Wichita Counseling Professionals.
“She specializes in treating adults experiencing depression, anxiety spectrum disorders, trauma, and mood disorders, as well as relationship issues, including couples and marriages, family conflict, infidelity and divorce,” her biography said.
The post Former TV news anchor found covered in blood after she stabbed her mother to death as she sat in bed enters plea first appeared on Law & Crime.
