PALM COAST, Fla. – A Flagler County man is behind bars, accused of fatally stabbing his mother after they got into an argument Wednesday night over him not looking for a job.
Sheriff Staley in a press conference on Thursday called this stabbing brutal, violent and apparently angry.
Deputies were called to a Palm Coast home at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a 911 call that a woman had been stabbed by a masked man.
Once deputies arrived at the home on Woodhollow Lane, they found a woman lying face down in the yard.
Nathaniel Shimmel told dispatchers on the phone that his mother had been stabbed by a masked man who fled. He said he heard screaming from the porch and walked through the home to find his mother lying face down in the yard.
Shimmel told deputies that the masked man was near his mother before he ran off.
Staley told reporters on Thursday the majority of the stabbing happened in the home and the mother tried to escape out the front of her home.
"The brutal attack continued out of the house and into the front yard at which time from our investigation, Shimmel watched his mother die in the front yard and then stabbed her one last time in the back in an attempt to make it look like she was attacked," he said.
When questioned by deputies, Shimmel told them the stabbing was by accident and that his mother threatened to throw him out of the house.
"She was yelling at me and she grabbed me and...she just grabbed my arm and like tried to talk to me...," Shimmel said.
"There is no God who would forgive what he has done," Shimmel also told deputies.
Shimmel was found with blood in between his toes, chest, short, and shirt. Deputies also noted that he had a small cut on his left cheek and bridge of his nose.
“It’s a tragedy that this occurred but I’m glad that we could quickly identify the suspect and take him into custody,” Sheriff Staly said. “Units within the agency worked as the dynamic team they are. Many have worked with no sleep for 24-hours or minimal sleep, away from their families. I joined them firsthand at various scenes and operations last night and this morning and I couldn’t be prouder to lead such a professional group.”
Shimmel is charged with first-degree murder and has no bond.