A New Jersey man bludgeoned his mother to death Saturday after she tried to stop him from cutting off a tattoo on her leg, police said.
After the brutal killing, suspect James Dolan, 30, fled to Pennsylvania, where he led police on a brief chase, ending up covered in blood, smelling of alcohol, and exhibiting “erratic behavior.” It is said that he was discovered doing this.
Dolan is accused of killing his mother, Lillian Dolan, 65, after a heated argument inside the Gloucester Township home she shared with several other family members, according to a criminal complaint. has been indicted for.
“Witnesses stated that the previous night, the victim and James Dolan had been arguing about James Dolan cutting off a tattoo on his leg and walking around the house with a baseball bat,” the complaint states. Are listed.
“A witness reported hearing banging and the garage door opening around 4 a.m..”
When police arrived at 10 a.m. Saturday, they found Lillian Dolan “apparently deceased” on her bedroom floor with what appeared to be blunt force trauma, documents said.
Her car and son were apparently missing from the house.
Dolan later came to the attention of Pennsylvania State Police around 5 p.m. that night when he was seen driving the missing car at 112 mph more than 320 miles from the murder scene.
When he noticed the cruiser following him, he applied the brakes to stop the vehicle, but then jumped out of the vehicle and fled into the woods.
After a short pursuit, he was taken into custody.
“The operator was covered in blood and was acting erratically. The driver refused to identify himself and his breath smelled of alcoholic beverages,” state troopers said in a report.
Dolan allegedly refused to have a legal blood sample drawn, even though three bottles of alcoholic beverages were visible in his mother’s car.
A baseball bat was in the trunk. However, police have not said whether it was used as a weapon.
Dolan was charged with the mother’s first-degree murder.
He also faces more than a dozen misdemeanor and summary charges, including recklessly endangering another person, evading arrest and DUI, and reckless driving and resisting arrest in Pennsylvania.
According to court records, the judge denied bail for the murder suspect, saying, “The evidence is clear and there is a strong presumption that the defendant will not respond while on bail.”
Dolan is being held in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, pending extradition to New Jersey.
