Over the past few years, police have responded to a number of domestic disputes between a mother and son in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
Helene Nulty, 52, and her son Jonathan Nulty, 21, were known to have their differences — but on Dec. 10, police responded to the house for the last time.
Helene’s father contacted the police when he couldn’t get hold of her.
#BREAKING: Investigators are looking into a suspicious death in West Mifflin. Police say they were called to do a welfare check on the woman who lives at this home along Eastman St. The county’s medical examiner & several detectives are on scene. LIVE report at 4, 5 & 6PM @WPXI pic.twitter.com/Je9YHcb7u4
— Jillian Hartmann WPXI (@JillianWPXI) December 10, 2021
“On December 10, 2021, West Mifflin Police conducted a missing person investigation,” the Allegheny County Police Department shared on Facebook. “The missing person, a 52-year-old female, was reported missing by her father on December 9, 2021, after having no contact with her for five days.
“West Mifflin detectives went to the woman’s home in the 700 block of Eastman Street and spoke with her 21-year-old son, Jonathan Nulty.”
At first, when pressed, Jonathan told authorities that his mother had gone somewhere with her boyfriend some time ago and he hadn’t seen her since.
Police returned to the home later to search it, and that’s when an officer found proof that Jonathan’s story was bogus.
That officer noticed a large black trash bag in the back yard of the property, and upon investigation, found that it contained Helene’s body.
When confronted with the evidence, Jonathan quickly changed his tune, claiming “it was self-defense,” according to WTAE-TV.
Later, as Jonathan was interviewed by the police, he said that he and his mother didn’t get along. He said that she emotionally and physically abused him, nit-picked the things he did and nagged at him for his marijuana use.
He claimed that on Dec. 1, while they were in the kitchen, they got into an argument that escalated to Helene grabbing him by the throat. He said he found a phone cord nearby, which he said he strangled her with.
Left with a body to dispose of, Jonathan said he wanted to dump her in the river but he was unable to move her. Instead, he placed her in a plastic trash bag outside, because “it was colder and he didn’t want her to smell.”
He also said he was planning to bury her later to “let Mother Nature take care of her.”
“Nulty will be charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence,” the Allegheny County Police Department’s post continued. “Nulty will be lodged in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment.”
Jonathan’s grandfather told police that Jonathan had asked him to buy him a gun, but he had refused, according to WPXI.
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One neighbor said she was surprised to hear of the horrible events that took place next door.
“We are shocked,” Sandra Dowdle said, according to WTAE-TV. “We are stunned. We never expected anything like this to ever happen here.
“Shocked because I never thought that he could hurt her. You know, I know families have their quarrels, but to take it that far, I never thought that was, something like that would happen … she will be missed. We are all going to miss her.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.