Hernando man kills mother, self in murder suicide, deputies say

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. - A Hernando County man shot and killed his 80-year-old mother and her two dogs before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide Saturday night, according to a Hernando County Sheriff’s Office report.

A Winn Dixie supermarket employee contact authorities at 6:35 p.m. to report that Elizabeth “Bettie” Jacobson hadn’t reported to work.

Deputies went to Jacobson’s home, located on 26305 Alamo Drive in Brooksville, to check on her well being.

The home was locked, so deputies forced entry into the home and discovered Jacobson’s body. Her son, 54-year-old Phillip Hayden, was also deceased.

Through their investigation, detectives learned that Hayden shot his mother with a handgun, killed two of her dogs and then killed himself.

Authorities said that there aren’t any indications that an outside person committed this crime.

The case remains under investigation.