Va. woman murdered, daughter and her partner accused

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. - A woman and her partner are accused of murder, and the alleged victim is the mother of one of the suspects, reports CBS affiliate WUSA.

Alaina Mercer and Christina Brown, both 25, were in court on Monday after being charged over the weekend in the death of Alaina's mother, Nancy Lynne Mercer, 60. The station reports Nancy Mercer was found shot dead in her Spotsylvania County home on May 18.

According to the station, Alaina Mercer faces first-degree murder and murder conspiracy charges; Brown is being charged with murder conspiracy and buying a gun while under a protective order. The two women were married in Maryland; their union is not recognized in the state of Virginia.

"Having been a long-time nurse up in D.C., [Nancy Mercer] was known for being punctual," said Captain Jeff Pearce of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Department. "On the day of the murder, she was due to be in work at 7 p.m. ... when she didn't show up and her co-workers weren't able to contact her, they contacted the sheriff's office."

Pearce said deputies discovered the crime scene while conducting a welfare check at the victim's home, WUSA reports. The victim's daughter Alaina Mercer, and Brown, were arrested nearly two weeks later.

"This case, they went to her home and it appears at least from evidence that the killing was conspiratory in nature," Pearce told the station.

Deputies would not give a motive, but one of Nancy Mercer's neighbors said there was tension between mother and daughter. "On [that] Monday, she was supposed to be in court, to get full custody of [Alaina's] kid," James Middlebrook told WUSA. "She was supposed to get full custody that day."

Pearce confirmed that Nancy Mercer and her daughter were supposed to be in court the day after she was killed, but would say only that it was a domestic issue.

Court documents show Nancy Mercer was fearful of her daughter and her partner. In a protective order request filed against the couple, she wrote that she had let them live in her home rent-free for five years, and that Brown and her daughter were disrespectful and even violent, according to the station. Nancy Mercer wrote in 2012, after she kicked the couple out of her home, that Brown made threats of physical harm and said she was going to "torch the place."

WUSA reports Brown bought a gun even though the protective order against her prohibited such a transaction until July of 2014. Pearce said she did not purchase the weapon from a federally licensed dealer and that police are looking into the matter.

Both suspects are being held without bond.

In a released statement, Nancy Mercer's family said, "Our mother was a beautiful and loving woman whose life was tragically ended, the way her life ended was a stark contrast to the work and the way she lived."