A Monday night 911 call captured the final moments of Jerry Lea Vaughn’s life as the 77-year-old grandmother pleaded for help, telling dispatchers her son was attacking her.
By the time authorities arrived at the home in Sumter County, Florida, the woman had been stabbed with a butcher knife and shot in the head. Her son, 51-year-old Derek DeWayne Vaughn, was waiting outside the residence.
Police immediately detained Vaughn, who is now facing charges of dangerous and depraved murder without premeditation and firing a weapon within an occupied dwelling.
While being placed in custody, Vaughn reportedly showed little remorse for the violence but voiced physical discomfort regarding his arrest.
According to a report from WKMG, he told officers, “I mean, I know I killed my mom, but that one is uncomfortable,” referring to the tightness of his handcuffs.
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The details of the attack are harrowing.
Dispatchers heard the victim screaming, “Help me, help me, my son just stabbed me, he is coming to kill me,” before the line went silent.
Investigators say Vaughn admitted to the stabbing but told them that when his mother did not die immediately, he believed he received a divine directive.
According to the arrest report, Vaughn claimed: “God told him to get his father’s gun and shoot her in the head.” He further justified the killing to the authorities by referring to his mother as “the devil” and stating, “I killed the devil.”
Jerry Vaughn was rushed to UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital in The Villages, where she was later pronounced dead. Neighbors and friends expressed total shock at the news, describing the victim as a generous woman who had welcomed her son and his family into her home.
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One neighbor told WESH that she was “the light in so many people’s lives” and was known for her kindness to local children.
Despite the nature of his claims during the confession, a mental health evaluation conducted following the arrest determined that Vaughn understood the difference between right and wrong. He has no prior criminal record.
The case, which began under the jurisdiction of the Wildwood Police Department, has since been handed over to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Vaughn remains in the Sumter County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
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