Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - A 33-year-old man from Hamburg has been arrested, and is accused of murdering his 71-year-old mother at their home on McKinley Parkway.
Hamburg police responded to a welfare check at the home at 5044 McKinley Parkway at around 8 a.m. Sunday. While at the home, officers discovered James Jenney and his deceased mother, Lareta.
"The officers arrived, which is difficult because they don't often know what they're walking into. They arrived, they were met at the door by Mr. Jenney, who, at first, was belligerent and didn't want to let them in. Didn't want to discuss why they were there, or why he had called the police," said Hamburg Police Cpt. Todd Ehret with WBEN on Monday. "At some point, one of the officers that works here had gained some rapport with him, knew him from high school and from previous calls. Mr. Jenney then invited the officers inside, at which time, the officers found his mother, Lareta, deceased inside the home."
James Jenney was arraigned in Hamburg Town Court on Monday, where he was charged with second-degree murder.
"In New York State, second-degree murder is just the intentional killing of another person. We conducted a very thorough investigation, we were there throughout the day yesterday and well into the night. And then we were there this morning, up until just a little while ago," Cpt. Ehret noted. "The officers collected evidence to help assist in a successful prosecution of this case."
Cpt. Ehret says Jenney has been known to Hamburg Police on several occasions, dating back nearly 10 years, all for domestic violence incidents between him and his mother in the house.
"This is a domestic violence situation, and that domestic violence is systemic. Not just in the Town of Hamburg, but also throughout the country," Cpt. Ehret said.
"There's no indication here other than the fact that this lady loved her son, and she did everything in her power and within her means to take care of him, and it just escalated to the point where it became a tragic incident. We would encourage people that have awareness of loved ones or themselves that are going through something to please reach out and get the help and assistance that we're able to provide for them."
An autopsy was conducted this morning on Lareta Jenney, and officials were able to confirm she died as the result of a homicide.
In the courtroom on Monday, James reached a point where he became belligerent, similar to his situation when he called police to his mother's home Sunday morning. Cpt. Ehret says the department is used to people being belligerent with officers, which is why being able to de-escalate situations like this is a key emphasis.
"We're used to people being difficult, sometimes being a little bit off the wall. Our officers are trained to de-escalate the situation. In this case, that's exactly what they did, and it's what worked. They found an officer that had rapport with him, he was able to de-escalate the situation to a point where Mr. Jenney allowed them into the residence," Cpt. Ehret added.
James Jenney faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison, if convicted. He is scheduled to have a felony hearing this Friday, Dec. 19.