Bond denied for woman charged with killing 87-year-old mother on Chicago's South Side
CHICAGO (CBS) – Bond is denied for a woman charged with the murder of her 87-year-old mother in a Bronzeville apartment building last weekend.
Shearly Gaines, 69, appeared in bond court where prosecutors said she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and the victim, Mae Brown, was the payee of her Social Security disability payments.
On Oct. 12. Gaines was in Brown's apartment on the 9th floor of the Lincoln Perry Apartments, located at 3245 S. Prairie Ave. Prosecutors said that Gaines called the police to report a theft by Brown regarding her disability payments. After settling the dispute, officers left the two in the apartment when Brown asked her to leave but she refused. It wasn't until her younger daughter arrived and called police back to the scene to escort Gaines out around 6:33 p.m.
Video surveillance from the front lobby caught Gaines returning the following day and entering the apartment. During this time, she was seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and carrying a blue purse, prosecutors said.
No other individual was seen entering the apartment until a couple of days later on Oct. 15 after Gaines was seen leaving the apartment.
Brown's daughter last spoke to her the day before on Oct. 14 around 5:02 p.m. and learned that Gaines was at the apartment and was told to leave, according to phone records.
Around 3:15 p.m., the daughter arrived at the apartment where Brown didn't answer the door. After gaining entry with the assistance of maintenance, she found Brown in her bedroom unresponsive in a motorized wheelchair with several wounds to the head – including bruising to her left eye, several sharp force injuries to her left temple - one over her eye, and three in her forehead. Blood spatter was seen on her headboard and a pool of blood was underneath her and she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to prosecutors.
A postmortem examination was conducted the next day and the cause of death was ruled a homicide from multiple assault injuries. Examiners say the sharp wounds didn't penetrate the scalp, but an internal examination discovered a one-to-two-inch ring inside Brown's throat cavity.
Gaines was identified on surveillance video by Brown's daughter and another resident of the building who knew them leaving the apartment.
Gaines was arrested Wednesday and was taken into custody wearing the same sweatshirt and blue purse from the video. A Philips screwdriver and dagger were recovered and matched the wounds Brown received.
She is being held without bail. She is due back in court on Nov. 9.
