HAMMOND, LOUISIANA: In a tragic incident that shocked the community of Hammond, Louisiana, a 19-year-old named Johnathan Payne Kliebert allegedly fatally shot his mother Ashley Kliebert and her dog as they slept.
The teenager grabbed a shotgun after he woke up in the middle of the night in an "angry state" and proceeded to carry out the heinous crime, according to local law enforcement, reported Law and Crime.
What led to Ashley Kliebert's murder?
On Tuesday, September 26, Kliebert contacted 911 on himself at around 1.45 am and revealed to them that he shot his mother at her house in the Ponchatoula area, as per the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Daniel Edwards stated that upon receiving the 911 call, deputies responded to a hospital where the suspect was waiting to turn himself in for murder and several other charges.
Authorities stated that Ashley was discovered shot in the head in her bed and her dog was also spotted dead next to her.
"Deputies responded to the hospital and located Kliebert in the parking lot while other deputies responded to the residence on Sisters Road," stated the sheriff’s office.
"When deputies arrived at the residence, they located a deceased white female identified as 46-year-old Ashley Kliebert in the master bedroom with an apparent gunshot wound to the head," the sheriff's office added.
Investigators stated that Kliebert continued to make confessions about the gruesome killings as he disclosed during the interview that he "awoke in an angry state, brandished a shotgun, and killed his mother and her dog, both of which were asleep in the bed," stated the sheriff’s office.
What are the charges against Johnathan Kliebert?
Kliebert was taken into custody and was booked at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on Tuesday at 8:02 am local time.
In addition to the first-degree murder count, he faces a slew of charges including cruelty to animals, armed robbery, and aggravated crimes against nature.
In accordance with Louisiana law, first-degree murder is committed when an individual "has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm and is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of [….] armed robbery."
If convicted, the 19-year-old could potentially be sentenced to life without the "benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence."
However, if the prosecution decides to treat this murder case as a capital offense, the potential punishment for Kliebert could be the harshest punishment available under the law.
