A man accused of admitting to beating his mother with a hammer until she could barely breathe has had his charges upgraded after she died.
Robert Babin, 24, is charged with murder in the death of his mother, Lisa Babin, 61. He was initially charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but on July 29, the charge was upgraded to murder, according to Harris County court records.
Lisa Babin died nine days after the June 11 attacks, according to KHOU, a CBS affiliate in Houston.
According to a bail order issued following Robert Babin’s arrest, he confessed to a friend on a gaming platform that he assaulted his mother.
“I am in trouble and I need your help,” he allegedly said. “I just assaulted my mother with a hammer, I got angry, and I don’t know what to do. I can’t go to prison. I need to get rid of the hammer and destroy the evidence before the police arrive.”
“I don’t want to end up on Death Row,” Robert Babin continued, according to the court documents. “I struck her several times on the head and side. “She is barely breathing.”
According to Law&Crime, when Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the house on the 18700 Block of Holly Way, they discovered the mother “barely breathing with serious bodily injuries.” According to reports, the gaming friend called 911, but because he did not see Robert Babin’s alleged messages until two hours later, the woman suffered for an extended period of time.
The suspect told authorities he had “left his mother napping at the residence unhurt” and “claimed he had no idea what was happening,” according to court documents. However, the victim was unable to provide her side of the story “due to [the] extent of the injuries sustained.” She was described as “severely impaired, unable to speak.”
Major Ben Katrib of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in early July that the assault appeared to be the result of an argument between two family members.
“A preliminary investigation indicated that there was some sort of verbal argument between the victim and her son, who’s 24 years old, when he became enraged and struck her with a hammer several times,” Katrib said, according to KHOU.
“We believe that based on the information we have – that the suspect was even making attempts to conceal the crime,” according to him. “But luckily, his friend did the right thing and called 911, and we were able to respond in time.”
Robert Babin’s charge would have to be upgraded to capital murder before he could be executed. He is being held in the Harris County Jail under a $350,000 bond.
