Man Kills 71-Year-Old Mother, Stuffs Body In Sewage Pipe Before Setting Her Remains On Fire

A man reportedly killed his 71-year-old elderly mother, stuffed her remains in a sewage pipe, and set her body on fire in Toledo, Ohio on Friday, Sept 30.

Officers with the Toldeo Police Department were reportedly called to a home located in the 1800 block of Wildwood Road requesting a wellness check on a possible missing person on the morning of Saturday, Oct 1. When the officers responded to the scene, they reportedly searched a wooded area behind the home and located 71-year-old Nancy Lewton’s body, Law & Crime reported.

Following the gruesome discovery, Lewton's 31-year-old son Travis Lewton was arrested and taken into custody at approximately 2 p.m. on Saturday. When Travis was interviewed by investigating officers, he allegedly confessed to killing his mother and told the officers that he had been contemplating murdering his mother for over a week.

According to Travis, when his mother came home from work, he attacked her by choking her. After the victim became unconscious and stopped breathing, Travis took her body down in the ravine behind his house. He then stuffed his mother's body in a sewer pipe and set her body on fire, the US Sun reported.

The neighbors said that they were reportedly devastated to hear about Nancy’s death. However, they revealed that they’d known Travis had been problematic and violent in the past and likely struggled with mental issues.

“We’ve known Travis Since he was in high school And he had trouble back then, like a lot of kids but maybe a little bit more. And it just followed him as he grew up,” neighbor Ray Wagner, who has lived on Wildwood Road for several years, reportedly said.

"Travis has struggled since he was a young man. I think the fact that, as Ray said, it’s a quiet neighborhood just highlights that mental health issues are universal. We need more community resources, we need help. It doesn’t matter nobody is immune,” neighbor Cynthia Wagner revealed. “A mother’s love just doesn’t end. No matter what your son’s mental illness is, and I’m sorry that it ended this way.”

Following the incident, Lewton was arrested and charged with one count of premeditated aggravated murder. He was arraigned Monday morning before Toledo Municipal Court Judge Joshua Lanzinger. He was ordered to remain in detention on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 4.

Travis was previously charged with robbery with a deadly weapon in 2011 after he allegedly stole a pair of headphones from a Toledo Walmart, brandished a pair of Fiskars shears, and threatened to stab a security guard.