Clearwater Police said a 24-year-old man is facing a first-degree murder charge after he admitted that he killed his mother on Saturday afternoon. Police said he admitted to planning the murder for a year.
Police said Logan Lopez beat his mother, Mary Beth Lopez, 53, with a hammer and stabbed her several times.
Detectives said the victim went over to her son's apartment at The Palms at Countryside Apartments to drop off his mail. He told detectives he invited her inside to see his new furniture.
Police said Lopez told them he "lured" his mother to his apartment to kill her and admitted that he spent a year planning the murder down to the exact day and time.
“As she came inside, he closed the door,” Major Natalia Illich-Hailey said. “He came up behind her and struck her with a hammer. He struck her multiple times with the hammer. He also stabbed her with a knife multiple times.”
A neighbor called 911 when she heard a woman screaming for help at around 5 p.m.
Officers said they found Mary Beth dead in the apartment.
“You see the worst of people, but you don’t see this brutality very often,” the major said.
According to the police, Lopez had no criminal history. He was Baker Acted last year after an incident with another family member in Tampa.
An autopsy on Mary Beth is underway.
