A Michigan man was arraigned this week on murder charges in the death of his mother, who police say he smothered to death because she allegedly scolded him for his “life choices.”
James Robert Hall, 39, was charged with first degree murder, unlawful driving away, and larceny, the Holly Police Department said. He also had an open warrant for breaking and entering, and his mother — 59-year-old Kristine Hall — had allowed him to live in her home sometime in the past year.
Police said they were called by Kristine Hall’s brother, who said he’d gone to check on her when she hadn’t answered calls from him and their mother. He found his sister dead in her bed.
Officers arrived an saw signs of a struggle and bruising on the victim’s neck.
Kristine Hall’s vehicle was missing from the home, and investigators entered it and her son, now a suspect, into a statewide database. In the course of the investigation, the victim’s daughter called to report that James Hall had contacted their father and admitted killing his mother.
They also received a call from the Kalamazoo Police Department — about 140 miles away — who said they had Hall in custody on the breaking and entering warrant and had impounded the missing vehicle.
Kalamazoo police said Hall was taken into custody after they were called to a party store by a clerk who reported that a man who used he stoe’s phone had said he was “thinking about killing himself.” Hall reported told responding officers — who found him in the parking lot in the stolen vehicle — that “he had recently killed his mother.”
When Holly police arrived to speak with him, he again admitted he had murdered his mother. He said on the night of November 24, he was passing by her bedroom when she called him inside and “began verbally scolding him for his life choices and for not amounting to anything, which he said she was always telling him.”
Hall stated he became tired of hearing it climbed on top of her, and used a pillow to smother her to death,” police said.
Then he took her money and jewelry and fled in her vehicle to Kalamazoo, where he called his father from the party store phone. Prior to making that call, he had rented a room in Kalamazoo and gone to a casino to gamble with his mother’s stolen money.
“James Hall was angry his mother was parenting him … so he killed her,” said Holly Police Chief Jerry Narsh. “He took the life … that gave him life. Then he took her money, her jewelry and her vehicle because he was challenged on his life choices. Then he went to a casino.”
Hall was brought back to Oakland County, where he was arraigned on the breaking and entering charge on November 26 before his arraignment on the murder charge on December 10. He was denied bond and is due in court again on December 23.
According to her obituary, Kristine Hall was a veteran of the US Navy.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: James Robert Hall/Holly Police Department and Kristine Hall/Dryer Funeral Home]