Connecticut police said on Friday that they have charged a man with killing his elderly mother weeks after her dismembered body was discovered in her home.
On March 24, West Haven police officers performed a welfare check at Tina Hart’s home and found her body parts in 14 black plastic bags in a locked closet in an upstairs bedroom. Hart’s older son requested a welfare check, stating he and others have not heard from Hart, 70, since November, according to the New Haven Register.
“There were several cutting utensils, there was an electric saw, things of that nature,” Detective Gabianelli stated, per WFSB.
Hart’s younger son, Theodore Lloyd, 17, was charged last Monday with trying to burn down her home and trespassing. The New Haven Register reported that Lloyd was homeless and occasionally stayed with his mother.
According to WVIT, police believe Hart died two months earlier. They explained that it took a while to identify Hart through DNA because of how decomposed her body was.
A warrant stated that additional bags were found in Hart’s home. They reportedly contained gloves, blood-soaked tiles, and other items that were traced to a Walmart and Home Depot. Authorities said surveillance footage from those stores showed a man resembling Lloyd purchasing the items.
Lloyd, who remains jailed on a $1 million bond, is due back in court next month. Additional charges are expected as he has not been charged with his mother’s murder.
