A Maple Grove man has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly beating his 68-year-old mother to death and severely injuring his father during a methamphetamine-fueled rage.
Matthew G. Witt, 42, was charged Friday in Hennepin County District Court with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder in the brutal attack at the family's lakeside home.
Officers were called to the house on the 6600 block of Eagle Lake Drive around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in response to a possible domestic dispute. A 911 emergency dispatcher told police that he "heard some kind of scuffle or fight over the phone, then the line disconnected."
According to the criminal complaint, Witt answered the door covered in blood. Responders could see a motionless body on the floor inside.
"Take me to jail. I did it," Witt said, according to charges. "They're alive. I let them live."
Police began CPR on Elizabeth J. Witt, but she died at the scene. Her husband, George B. Witt, 71, was found on the bathroom floor upstairs suffering from severe head injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. As of Friday afternoon, his condition remained stable.
George Witt told police that his son lived at the home and struggled with mental health issues. He claimed his son had been using meth and struck him and his wife "all over," court records show.
A female witness recounted to authorities a strange conversation with Witt earlier that day in which he divulged that he and his parents hadn't been getting along. Witt told her the "house and money would be his someday and specified that day would be soon," she said, according to the complaint.
