An 18-year-old accused of beating his grandmother to death at an Erlanger home says he thought the older woman was armed, while police records indicate the attack was unprompted.
When police responded to an assault at Ridgecrest Drive on Oct. 8, they found 74-year-old Cheri Oliver unconscious on the living room floor in a pool of blood.
Her grandson, Wyatt Testerman of Independence, was arrested at the scene and is charged with murder in Kenton County District Court.
Investigators say Testerman used his fists and a metal drinking tumbler to repeatedly strike Oliver, who died at the hospital of blunt trauma to the head.
Family watching a movie before attack
During a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Erlanger Police Detective Tom Loos said Testerman told police that he’d been watching a movie with his family when his grandmother became suicidal and needed to remain seated in a chair.
Testerman told Loos his mother, who was also at the house, started acting erratically and went outside to call police. He followed to stop her, Loos said.
He went back inside, encountered his grandmother at the top of the stairs and started striking her, according to the detectiveâs account of Testermanâs interview with police.
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However, witnesses said Testerman became violent âfor no apparent reason,â according to a criminal citation.
Testermanâs mother told police that she saw her son attacking Oliver and that she hit him with a cane to get him to stop, Loos said.
Another witness heard Testerman say before the attack that Oliver was âsuicidal and a terroristâ and warned her to remain in a chair otherwise âshe would suffer the consequences,â the detective added.
âInnocent until proven guilty,â Testerman said during an outburst in court on Tuesday. âI thought she had a weapon.â
Loos said police did not find any injuries on Testerman following his arrest, though he was covered in blood.
Case headed to grand jury
Judge Ann Ruttle determined there was enough probable cause to send the case to a grand jury, which decides whether Testerman will be prosecuted in circuit court, where felonies are tried.
Ruttle also denied Testermanâs request to be briefly released from jail to attend his grandmotherâs funeral.
âShe wouldnât need a funeral if he hadnât killed her,â said Kenton County Commonwealthâs Attorney Rob Sanders.
Testermanâs public defender declined to comment on the case when reached by The Enquirer.
Court and jail records show Testerman is currently at the Kenton County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Police: Family tried to stop NKY man accused of grandmother’s killing
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