Man Threatens to Put 96-year-old Aunt in Nursing Home, She Shoots Him Dead

Last Sunday night in St. Augustine, Fla., police arrested 96-year-old Amanda Celestine Stevenson and charged her with the murder of her 53-year-old nephew, John W. Rice. According to police, Amanda shot John shot as he was sleeping in his bedroom with a .357 magnum handgun. Police believe the bad granny -- who has two prior arrests -- was upset with her nephew, who took her into his home a few months ago, because he was looking to place her in a senior living center. Now, she's going to prison to die. Someone should really call DFCS (or AARP?), because the geriatric set is clearly out of control!

Update, Sept 29: Amanda was accused of shooting another man dead in 1953 when she was 38 years old, but the charges were dismissed five months later because the prosecutor did not pursue the case. According to newspaper reports from that time, two witnesses identified Amanda (then known as Amanda Brown) by her voice as the person who was with Frank Van Dyke when he was killed. She told the grand jury she was at home at the time and her attorney argued that charges should be dropped. The newspaper articles do not say why the charges were dropped, but Amanda's great niece said she heard as a child from her family that another woman confessed to the murder on her death bed and Amanda was subsequently released.




Meanwhile, in Portland, Ore. a 72-year-old man robbed a McDonald's restaurant this morning. Police say David Roisland entered the store through an unlocked door just after 4am armed with a knife, and committed the robbery while the cleaning crew worked. As officers took David into custody, he complained of chest pain and was transported to a local hospital before he was transferred to jail and charged with degree robbery. Bail was set at $250,000.




sources: WJXT | KGW