CHEWELAH, Wash. A Washington man charged with murdering his own mother, appeared in court for the first time Thursday.Â
21-year-old Benjamin Richmond was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with first-degree murder after police found his mother, Kimberly, dead at home with him.Â
Benjamin, a Chewelah High School baseball player and MVP of his little league team, suffered from substance abuse and violence, according to court documents. Those documents also say that his mother seemed to be the target of his violent outbursts.Â
Lawyers reported that Richmond s mother tried to have him committed to a mental health facility, but he refused to go. Richmond was also accused of assaulting his mother twice in August of 2018, including stabbing her in the car outside her work. At that time, she had begged for the charges on her son to be dropped, but while in custody Richmond assaulted a corrections officer, reportedly ending the officer s career.Â