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Trial For 92-Year-Old Charged With Killing Son Over Nursing Home Move

PHOENIX (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A March 13 trial has been set for a 92-year-old Arizona woman charged with killing her son because he wanted to put her into assisted living.

Anna Mae Blessing has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in the July 2 shooting death of 72-year-old Thomas Blessing at the home they shared in Fountain Hills.

Anna Mae Blessing
(credit: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

Investigators say Blessing was upset about her son's plans to put her into an assisted living facility and argued with him over the way she was being treated.

Blessing told detectives she got out two handguns she owned since the 1970s — one bought at a gun store and the other obtained from her late husband. She concealed the pistols in the pockets of her robe before confronting her son in his bedroom and firing multiple shots, records show.

Her son's girlfriend managed to wrestle the gun fired from Blessing's hand, as well as the second weapon, authorities said.

Investigators said the mother and son had previously expressed concerns that the other could become violent.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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