CA - Son detained after woman found decapitated inside Laguna Beach home, Aug 2019

[JoeFromLB]

dear lord...

Son detained after woman found decapitated inside Laguna Beach home

Laguna Beach detectives are searching a home in Laguna Terrace after they found a woman decapitated inside.

Friends identify the woman as Megan Hampton, she’s in her 60’s. At about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, friends were picking her up for church at her home as they traditionally do, but this time she wasn’t answering her gate.

Neighbor Danielle Cott says Hampton’s son, who is in his 30’s came outside.

“While they were asking him, he seemed very nervous and just ran out of the house, jumped into his mother’s car and took off,” says Cott.

Her friends saw Hampton’s mastiff covered in blood and rushed inside.

“They walked into the mother’s bedroom who was all dressed and ready to go to church and walked into a horrific crime scene,” recalls Cott.

About an hour later, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies located him driving his mom’s car and detained him.

 

[mjp1228]

dear lord...

Son detained after woman found decapitated inside Laguna Beach home

Laguna Beach detectives are searching a home in Laguna Terrace after they found a woman decapitated inside.

Just when I think I’ve become so hardened by all the crimes I follow here that I can’t be shocked anymore - I am shocked once again. Praying that she had already passed before the decapitation. This makes my heart hurt

 

[JoeFromLB]

Once again, a mother has her adult son with longstanding mental issues living in the same house. Recipe for trouble, and in this case, a catastrophe.

I was immediately reminded of the case of Nancy Bruneau. Her son is still awaiting trial for her gruesome murder after EIGHT-plus years of psychiatrists, hearings, and endless delays.

FL - Nancy Bruneau, 62, gruesome murder, Hollywood Lakes, 30 Oct 2010

 

[LadyL]

I wonder if the poor dog tried to protect her.

 

[Eloise]

Once again, a mother has her adult son with longstanding mental issues living in the same house. Recipe for trouble, and in this case, a catastrophe.

I was immediately reminded of the case of Nancy Bruneau. Her son is still awaiting trial for her gruesome murder after EIGHT-plus years of psychiatrists, hearings, and endless delays.

FL - Nancy Bruneau, 62, gruesome murder, Hollywood Lakes, 30 Oct 2010

Yes, this scenario has played out a couple of times in the past couple of years in my neck of the woods also. Adult child with serious mental health issues but not necessarily a diagnosed/named condition, has always lived with parents, parents did all they could with their limited resources and understanding, parent/s murdered gruesomely. Cue psychiatrists saying "we need more funding for mental health care and education" in quotes in articles, but nothing ever changes.

ETA this is why there is a focus on early intervention now - to get kids officially diagnosed and in the system as young as possible.

 

[JoeFromLB]

More background on the victim, Megan Hampton, and her son who has been charged with her murder.

The son was a star athlete in high school, quarterback on the football team at Claremont High and league all-star who descended into mental illness. His mother was widowed twice and devoted herself to caring for him. What a tragedy.

Former Claremont resident charged in mother’s murder | Claremont Courier

 

[JoeFromLB]

One local news source is reporting the son has catatonic schizophrenia.
If that is the case, expect many years of court hearings and delays before (or if) he can be found competent to stand trial.

There's a double tragedy here, his mother's murder and the fact that he was not in an intensive residential treatment facility. This type of mental illness is very severe, and nothing good could ever come from the living situation that we've seen here.

Man With Schizophrenia Charged With Killing Mother Inside Their Laguna Beach Home

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

from Catatonic Schizophrenia: (BRIEFLY here, lots more available online)

The predominant clinical features seen in the catatonic subtype of schizophrenia involve disturbances in a person’s movement. Affected people may exhibit a dramatic reduction in activity, to the point that voluntary movement stops, as in catatonic stupor. Alternatively, activity can dramatically increase, a state known as catatonic excitement.

Other disturbances of movement can be present with this subtype. Actions that appear relatively purposeless but are repetitively performed, also known as stereotypic behavior, may occur, often to the exclusion of involvement in any productive activity.

Patients may exhibit an immobility or resistance to any attempt to change how they appear. They may maintain a pose in which someone places them, sometimes for extended periods of time. This symptom sometimes is referred to as waxy flexibility. Some patients show considerable physical strength in resistance to re-positioning attempts, even though they appear to be uncomfortable to most people.

Affected people may voluntarily assume unusual body positions, or manifest unusual facial contortions or limb movements. This set of symptoms sometimes is confused with another disorder called tardive dyskinesia, which mimics some of these same, odd behaviors. Other symptoms associated with the catatonic subtype include an almost parrot-like repeating of what another person is saying (echolalia) or mimicking the movements of another person (echopraxia). Echolalia and echopraxia also are seen in Tourette’s Syndrome.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Just updating the court proceedings. There a pre-trial hearing set for April 3rd.

These murder cases in California can take years to finally come to trial. I'll check in every few months to follow the progress of the case.

 

[JoeFromLB]

The hearing in April may have been delayed due to the coronavirus. I know the courts were shut down for a while and no hearings or trials were held.

There is a pre-trial hearing set for August 21, 2020.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

I wonder if the poor dog tried to protect her.

I think that this is her FB page. She was beautiful and apparently loved her Mastiff, who is in some photos with her, RIP, Megan.

From my POV, a mother's love for a child is endless. I have a son with issues and I would let him stay with us, even though I would be hesitant.

You always have hope that the child's love for his/her parent will override any urge towards violence. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

https://www.facebook.com/megane.hampton

eta: Here's an article with information on Megan Hampton, with her photo as well as a photo of her son.

Former Claremont resident charged in mother’s murder | Claremont Courier

 

[JoeFromLB]

I checked the court records. He has a pre-trial hearing of some sort in February of 2021.

I'll check back then for updates.

This is California, so the case could take several more years to finally come to trial. It's a broken (and expensive for taxpayers) system.

 

[Filly]

From The Claremont Courier article posted above:

"Everything was tentative because she wanted to be available for him. He was her first priority"

So immensely sad. Beautiful woman despite all she had been through.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Preliminary hearing is set for June. Be advised this could take several more years to come to trial, if it ever does.
The court system is entirely broken here in California, and there are also severe mental issues involved. He might just spend a few decades in a mental hospital and never answer in a court of law for his horrific crime.
I will keep checking as long as I am able.

Matthew Bryson McDonald

06/24/2021 08:30 AM
Preliminary Hearing - H9

 

[JoeFromLB]

Very little progress on this case. Par for the course.

Some sort of "pretrial" hearing is set for 5/6/2022.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Took a while but McDonald was judged insane in a non-jury trial and committed indefinitely to a mental hospital.
Laguna Beach Man Committed for Deadly Stabbing - MyNewsLA.com

 

[HmmMysterious]

Took a while but McDonald was judged insane in a non-jury trial and committed indefinitely to a mental hospital.
Laguna Beach Man Committed for Deadly Stabbing - MyNewsLA.com

Honestly, this is what should have happened in the first place. This man was not stable enough to live with his mother.