ROCK COUNTY (WKOW) --A Brodhead man has been charged with first-degree intentional homicideafter allegedly strangling his grandmother in what he said was an attempt to save her soul.
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According to the criminal complaint, submitted Friday by Rock County deputy Viengkhone Nouanasacky,authorities arrived at a home on Mineral Point Road in the town of Center early in the morning on June 14. They found Jamie Beggs, 37, holding his head in his hands and saying "the demons are in my head."
The deceased woman, Beggs' grandmother, Kathleen Beggs, 97, was on the floor in the garage, lying in a pool of dried blood with a plastic bag wrapped around her head, according to the complaint. Authorities determined her cause of death to be sharp force injury to the neck and strangulation.
Law enforcement immediately took Beggs into custody, and although he initially refused to say anything about the incident without a lawyer present, he reacted negatively when investigators told him they were treating the case as a homicide.
"There's no homicide," Beggs allegedly told police. "It's a martyr, man. She's a saint, man, she's a f***ing saint. She's a saint now. She got her f***ing sainthood, man. I saved her f***ing soul. Really? And now you're going to charge me with murder?"
If convicted, Beggs faces a potential life sentence.
Via video from the Rock County Jail, Beggs Friday had his initial court hearing.
The victim's granddaughter, Kate Fitzgerald urged the court to set high bail for Beggs.
"My grandmother was the only person who saw good in Jamie," Fitzgerald tearfully said. "And he destroyed her."
A prosecutor noted Beggs is already a convicted felon with a dozen, additional criminal convictions.
Court Commissioner Stephen Meyer set Beggs' bail at $100,000.
A hearing takes place next week to determine if there's enough evidence to force Beggs to face trial.
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