Man Strangles Mother, 60, With Bungee Cord For Allegedly "Sleeping Around"

A 46-year-old US man has been convicted of murdering his mother at their home in Troy, Illinois. Neil Howard, 46, strangled his 60-year-old mother, Norma Caraker, reportedly fed up with her "sleeping around." The man was drunk at the time of the murder and faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.

According to Assistant State's Attorney Luke Yager, on September 13, 2023, Howard was sitting alone at home when his mother returned from a date. Upset by her behaviour, he snapped and wrapped a bungee cord around her neck, strangling her to death, Law and Crime reported.

“This defendant had had enough of his mother,” Yager reportedly said during his closing argument. “He'd had enough of her sleeping around. He'd had enough of her not giving him money.”

Troy police officers received information about Ms Caraker's death at about 1:30 am that night from Howard, who called them, pretending to be worried about his mother, claiming she was unresponsive.

At the scene, officers found Ms Caraker in her bed with a bungee cord still secured around her neck. They tried to revive her.

Howard, apparently intoxicated, told authorities he saw an unknown man rush out of a sliding glass door just before finding his mother. However, police discovered the door was locked from the inside, raising suspicion about Howard's involvement.

Howard was arrested at the scene. Reports also revealed he was previously arrested and questioned about the death of his father, George Howard, in 2005. However, he was released after prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury that he should face trial.

Last November, a 50-year-old woman from Delhi's Badarpur area was allegedly stabbed to death by her son after she refused to allow him to move to Canada for work. After killing his mother, the accused called his father and asked him to come home.

Upon arriving, the father found his wife lying in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds on her body. He immediately took her to the hospital, where she was declared dead.