Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Woman Killed Her 82-Year-Old Mom on Mother's Day, Authorities Say

By  Emily Morris and Darryl Holliday | May 14, 2013 6:52am 

 Janette Glenn, 51, is accused of murdering her 82-year-old mother, Catherine Glenn.
Woman Accused of Mother's Death
View Full Caption

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Prosecutors said a South Shore woman beat her mom to death in the early hours of Mother's Day and then tried to stuff her inside a closet in the home they shared.

Janette Glenn, 51, was charged with first-degree murder after her mom, Catherine Glenn, was found dead in their home in the 7800 block of South Euclid Avenue about 8:10 a.m., authorities said. 

Early reports said Catherine Glenn had been stabbed, but an autopsy ruled she died of multiple blunt force injuries caused by assault, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Her other daughter, Cathy Glenn, was the one who discovered her mother inside her bedroom and called police, she told reporters on Sunday. Authorities found the body about halfway inside a closet with her leg sticking out, prosecutors said.

There were signs trauma to her calf, and doctors later determined that she had broken bones in her leg and foot, according to prosecutors.

A search of the home revealed bloody towels near a metal rod covered in "blood and tissue" on the kitchen counter, prosecutors said.

Janette Glenn, who has lived with her mother since 2003, just celebrated her mother's 82nd birthday with a group of friends and family a day before she beat her to death, prosecutors said.

Witnesses told police that the mother seemed "fine" when they left her with Janette Glenn after the party, prosecutors alleged.

But when police arrived to the grisly scene Sunday morning, Janette Glenn was nowhere to be found.

She was eventually reached by phone by her brother, who put her on speaker so authorities could hear. Janette Glenn told him where she was before becoming anxious that someone was listening to her and asking her brother of if he was "trying to set her up," before ending the call, prosecutors said.

Police located Janette Glenn, whose right hand appeared to be swollen and had visible cuts. Authorities also found blood and what appeared to be tissue on her clothes, prosecutors said.

Janette Glenn was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail.

Cathy Glenn described her mother on Sunday as "the sweetest lady you'd ever meet." At the time, she said she thought a "mentally ill" family member might have killed her mother without fully understanding what she did. She could not be reached on Tuesday after her sister's court hearing.

Catherine Glenn was known around the neighborhood for helping parents by babysitting their kids. She was also a cook and a stay-at-home mother, Cathy Glenn said.