NEWS: 70 Year Old Woman Accused of Murdering 84 Year Old Neighbor With Claw Hammer, page 1

Kathy MacClellan, a 70 year old resident of Moore Township in PA, faces the death penalty if convicted of the brutal claw hammer murder of an 84 year old neighbor, Marguerite "Tutti" Eyer. The crime took place Feb. 7, after a robbery. Nobody witnessed the attack, but a neighbor responding to a personal alarm device worn by the deceased woman found the defendant on the porch, covered with blood. The defendant denied the murder during questioning at the police station, saying she went to the apartment to find her son. It's not clear if her son is alive, dead, or in any way involved with the incident. He is not in custody, and apparently was never questioned.

www.mcall.com
Kathy MacClellan, the 70-year-old Moore Township woman accused of beating her 84-year-old neighbor to death with a hammer, will face the death penalty if a jury convicts her of first-degree murder.

Northampton County First Deputy District Attorney Paula A. Roscioli and Assistant District Attorney Jay W. Jenkins on Friday filed notice that they intend to seek the death penalty.

The notice says MacClellan, of 16 Valley View Drive in Moore's Hickory Hills community, committed a felony and tortured Marguerite ''Tutti'' Eyer during the Feb. 7 killing. The notice does not specify the alleged felony, but Roscioli said MacClellan robbed Eyer.

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This is a bizarre case, even without the twist. It's not every day senior citizens are charged with murder. Adults account for the majority of murder statistics, and children come in second. This murder was brutal, and apparently motivated by money.

The twist is that during an interview, later at the police station, MacClellan said "I went to get my son. If I did it, I would have changed my clothes." In addition, another neighbor who came in response to the activation of a personal security alarm worn by "Tutti" said he engaged in conversation with the defendant, and she told him "It's too late, she's already dead." Judging by that evidence, I might be inclined to search for her son for questioning.

That being said, the victim who was conscious when the other neighbor found her, said the defendants name repeatedly. It's unclear if she was identifying her attacker, or identifying the person who first found, and subsequently left her side. This is a bizarre case, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the courts.