Son strangles mom with phone charger cord and stuffs body in garbage bags, PA cops say

Pennsylvania police have arrested a 21-year-old man accused of killing his mother and wrapping her body in garbage bags.

Officers were sent Dec. 10 to the 52-year-old woman’s West Mifflin home when her father said he had not spoken with her in five days, according to the Allegheny County Police Department.

The woman’s son, Jonathan Nulty, initially told investigators his mom was with her boyfriend, KDKA reported. But when officers returned the following day, they found her body in the backyard, the TV station reported.

The mother, identified by media outlets as Helene Nulty, was “wrapped in plastic garbage bags in the backyard of the home,” police said.

Questioned by police, Jonathan Nulty said that he killed his mother out of self-defense, WTAE reported. He said he was often physically and emotionally abused by his mom, who he claimed would “nitpick” what he does, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WTAE.

He said they got into an argument Dec. 1, which reportedly turned physical when Helene Nulty grabbed her son by the throat, Jonathan Nulty told officers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. He then grabbed a cellphone charging cord and strangled his mother with it, police said, according to the Post-Gazette.

Helene Nulty’s cause of death was listed as strangulation, according to the Tribune-Review.

Jonathan Nulty planned on dumping her body in the river, but he could not lift her, KDKA reported. Instead, he was going to bury her in the backyard and “let Mother Nature take care of her,” according to WTAE.

Police announced Saturday, Dec. 11 they had charged Jonathan Nulty with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. He was placed in the Allegheny County Jail.