Omar Mark Pettigen allegedly used a tomahawk to strike his mother on the head, shot her multiple times, cut her chest open and picked up her heart.
A California man charged with murdering his mother told police that killing her and desecrating her body felt “good,” according to reports.
Omar Pettigen, 31, allegedly used a tomahawk that hung on the wall of his 64-year-old mother’s Monroe apartment to strike her on the head before shooting her in the back at least seven times and cutting open her chest to pick up her heart, according to court documents obtained by The New York Daily News.
He put the heart back in Nailah Pettigen’s body and then reportedly masturbated because “he needed to be with himself and needed a release after the event,” the documents apparently said.
Omar Pettigen allegedly said the gruesome act felt “good” when he was arrested north of Oakland on Sunday, SFgate.com wrote.
His arrest came after police discovered the woman’s body in her blood-soaked bedroom, according to the News. They were performing a welfare check on the behest of Nailah Pettigen’s ex-husband.
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The former American High School math teacher “appeared to have been disemboweled,” the News wrote, noting she had been cut from her neck down to her cervix.
Omar Pettigen allegedly told detectives he comitted the act because his mother was killing herself with prescription painkillers, which he said she had become addicted to after hip and knee problems as well as surgery, the News wrote.
He allegeldy told detectives that his mother was yelling at him and during the argument, she pointed a gun at him, which prompted him to grab a hammer off the bedroom wall to knock the gun out of her hand, SFGate.com wrote. He left the room and returned with the tomahawk.
He allegedly told police that after the gruesome killing, he left the home, had a few beers with friends and booked an airline ticket for Chicago, the News reported.
Police said Omar Pettigen “did not show any signs of remorse,” the News said.
“I asked how he felt about his actions and he said good,” a detective reportedly wrote.
Family members that the detective spoke with said the mother and son had not been getting along, going on to allegedly say "it is well known that the family has seen a change in Omar since he has returned from Morocco several months prior to the murder," the News reported.
He was arraigned Tuesday on charges of murder and desecration of human remains and was ordered held without bail, the News wrote.
That court appearance came one day after a candle light vigil was held by loved ones, including her former students and friends.
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“Great work. My niece was devastated by me sharing this news about her former teacher,” Tiffany Brooks-Dumont wrote on the Fremont Police Department's Facebook page after the news of Omar Pettigen’s arrest was released.
Many on social media seemed stunned that Omar Pettigen was charged with his mother’s murder.
"I always knew Omar to be a kind person, and have known him for over 10 years when we first met working at Michaels craft stores at the HUB. His mother was a wonderful person and I always thought them to be close. This is beyond disturbing and heartbreaking," Kaylien Doreen wrote on the police department’s Facebook page.
"She was my daughter's teacher 6 yrs ago and went far and beyond to help her. A very beautiful and (kind) spirit, I hope he didn't do it because she spoke so highly of her son," Porscha Gulley commented.
“Oh no! She was so awesome! I remember. Them being so close,” Jenae Sanchez wrote.
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