A 16-year-old boy in Oklahoma has been arrested on suspicion of murder after his adoptive mother was found beaten to death and placed in a rubbish bin, according to court documents.
Jordan Weems is charged with first-degree murder, desecration of a human corpse, and unauthorised removal of a dead body. Prosecutors allege he attacked his 49-year-old mother, Spring Weems, with a hammer and his fists, striking her more than a dozen times.
The Logan County District Attorney's office said Jordan had threatened to kill his mother before retrieving a hammer and lying in wait for her during the night. When she came upon him unsuspecting, he attacked her viciously, the filing states.
Police found Spring's body on Wednesday at a home in Edmond after she was reported missing. One of her biological children had visited the home the day before and was told by Jordan that she had left to help with a new baby. The biological child later called his father, who reported Spring missing to the Logan County Sheriff's Office.
The father spoke to one of the adopted children, who said Jordan had killed Spring with a hammer and that her body was in a rubbish bin at the street. Jordan was taken into custody and confessed to the killing, saying he hit her until she stopped moving and then stuffed her body in the bin.
The motive for the murder remains unclear. According to the DA's office, Jordan had no criminal record but had previously been admitted to psychiatric hospitals for suicidal ideation. He is being held pending further legal proceedings.
