PLEASANTON — A man who lived alone with his mother told police that he used three knives to fatally stab her one morning because he was tired of her constant nagging and belittling, authorities said.
But Marcus Tilley, 31, reportedly assured homicide investigators that he butchered the 71-year-old woman “quickly” and “humanely,” though his blow-by-blow account of the homicide and the police description of the crime scene doesn’t quite match up with that characterization. Tilley allegedly told police he grabbed two knives, stabbed Marjory Methvin Tilley with them until one broke, then retrieved a third blade and continued the attack.
When he decided that he “won,” he set the knives down, took a shower and sat on a couch near his dead mom’s body before heading down to the local police department to turn himself in, according to court records. Police found Methvin Tilley’s body in a pool of blood, and the three knives, after recording Tilley’s confession, police say.
All that happened on April 1, after Tilley got back from a trip to Safeway and returned to his mother’s home, where he lived, according to police. Tilley has been in jail ever since, being held without bail, and facing charges of murder with circumstances in aggravation, including use of a deadly weapon, court records show.
He is due to be arraigned on April 23.
In Tilley’s confession to police, he reportedly blamed his aggression on his mother’s belittling, saying that she had a problem with his current “financial” and “employment,” status, that she challenged his “masculinity,” his “looks,” and his “worthiness to exist,” police said in court filings. He reportedly said the nagging had lasted his entire life, but wasn’t accompanied by abuse.
After he was “finished” killing her, Tilley took a shower, leaving his bloody clothes on the bathroom floor, he reportedly told police.
Before he left to turn himself in, Tilley reportedly considered cleaning up his mother’s blood and tidying the homicide scene. A Pleasanton homicide detective explained in court papers why Tilley said he decided against this.
“(Tilley) decided that would make his actions look suspicious,” the homicide investigator wrote.