A Connecticut son bludgeoned his mom to demise with a hammer, then ran out into the woods behind his ritzy household dwelling, screaming out for his “mama.”
Police arrested 20-year-old Sebastian Van Stockum on Oct. 24 after he admitted to fatally attacking his mom, Laura Williams, 55, together with his fists and a hammer inside their almost $2 million dwelling in New Canaan — about 10 miles exterior of Stamford, in keeping with the New Canaan Police Division.
Officers mentioned they responded to a report of a person shouting “Mama” from the woods at round 10:36 p.m. that night when 911 obtained a name from Van Stockum, “stating that he killed his mom.”
When responding officers arrived on the dwelling, Van Stockum opened the door together with his garments, face, and palms absolutely lined in blood, and was instantly put in handcuffs.
They then discovered Williams affected by devastating head wounds and a cracked cranium exterior the house — and a blood-smeared hammer mendacity beside her on the grass.
First responders tried CPR to revive her, however she was declared useless on the scene from the brutal accidents.
Cops additionally noticed one other huge pool of blood within the driveway, only some ft from the place her physique lay, WFSB reported, citing the police report.
Whereas Van Stockum was cuffed, he allegedly advised officers that he “did it” and acknowledged, “I took my mother’s life.”
The alleged killer son additionally murmured to cops that he “tried utilizing a knife, tried utilizing a hammer, and used his fists,” and that he was not mentally nicely, the outlet reported.
He was then hauled away to the New Canaan Police Headquarters and charged with homicide, the place a mugshot confirmed the 20-year-old with blood on his face and a number of scratch marks.
The Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner listed Williams’ explanation for demise as blunt accidents to her head and method of demise as murder.
Van Stockum appeared in Stamford Superior Court docket on Monday, the place state lawyer Paul Ferencek advised the courtroom of the “particularly violent homicide” he’s accused of committing.
“The sufferer was discovered bludgeoned to demise with excessive trauma to their cranium,” Ferencek mentioned.
Protection lawyer Philip Russell, who appeared for Van Stockum at his bond listening to, known as the state of affairs “stunning.”
“This was a horrible shock,” Russell mentioned. “No one anticipated this or foresaw this. At this level, there’s an terrible lot of free ends. All I can say is it could be untimely for anybody to hurry to judgment. Clearly, this can be a tragic state of affairs.”
Van Stockum is being held on a $2 million bond, together with his subsequent courtroom look scheduled for Nov 3.
His father — native restaurateur Dirk Van Stockum — sat within the courtroom on Monday however didn’t make any feedback about his alleged killer son.
His uncle advised the Stamford Advocate the 20-year-old grew up in New York Metropolis after which northern New Jersey earlier than touchdown in ritzy New Canaan. He graduated from New Canaan Excessive Faculty in 2023, with classmates describing him as “socially awkward.”
His uncle, David Williams, mentioned Van Stockum spent roughly a 12 months residing together with his maternal grandmother in Virginia, his mom’s dwelling state, however “it didn’t work out.”
Williams, who grew up in Charlottesville, Va, was a single mom who labored as a high-end vintage supplier.
She graduated from Georgetown College in 1993 and was a proficient author and artist who additionally labored briefly in movie manufacturing in Los Angeles, her brother mentioned.
Williams later moved to New York Metropolis, the place she met Sebastian’s father. Nonetheless, the 2 by no means married.
If discovered responsible, Van Stockum faces a minimal of 25 years in jail.
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