A Memphis woman was killed with a hammer before her car was stolen, and authorities say her grandson admitted to the crime.
Sonya Dates, 58, was discovered bleeding by her daughter on Wednesday afternoon next to a bloody hammer, Memphis Police Department officers told the Charlotte Observer. Officers and a paramedic arrived at the scene and discovered wounds on the back of her head; she was pronounced dead.
The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, which was believed to be caused by the hammer.
During the police investigation, investigators learned from the victim’s daughter that her son, Kerrien Dates, 23, was living with his grandmother. They also discovered that the grandmother’s blue 2020 Chevrolet Camaro was missing from her home.
The vehicle was discovered by cameras capturing license plates about 85 miles northeast in Jackson, Tennessee, that same Wednesday. The driver of the car was Kerrien Dates, according to a press release from the Jackson Police Department.
When officers pulled the defendant over and asked why he thought he was being stopped, he stated, “I hit Sonya in the head with a hammer and I think I killed her,” according to an affidavit reviewed by the outlet.
According to Sonya Dates’ daughter, Kerrien Dates and his grandmother had a fight. The defendant’s mother allegedly told her to kick her son out of the house “for safety,” according to police.
Sonya Dates was believed to have just returned home when she was attacked, as her body was discovered wearing a backpack and a lunch bag.
The Memphis Police Department charged Kerrien Dates with first-degree murder and theft of property. He is being held at Shelby County Jail and has a court appearance scheduled for Monday.
Sonya Dates’ next-door neighbor remembered her as “a good person.”
“It is sad to see she is gone,” Tracey Holloman told WMC in Memphis. “She did not bother anyone; she did not deserve it. “I’m praying for the family.”
