A 47-year-old mother was murdered by her teenage son -- aided by two of his friends -- in her own home. According to Fox News reports, Kimberly Mironovas was found with multiple stab wounds to her neck early Sunday morning in her Litchfield home in Maine.
Mirionovas' 15-year-old son and two of his friends from Ashland, Massachusets were arrested and charged with the murder according to court documents.
The son and one of his friends appeared in an Augusta court on Monday, charged with intentional or knowing murder.
The third accused, who is only 13 Years of age, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as he only participated in the planning but did not take part in the actual murder. Due to the fact that the accused persons are considered juveniles, their names cannot be made public unless they are charged as adults.
The original murder plot
According to a chilling juvenile petition released on Monday, the teens first hatched a plot to kill Mironovas using prescription pills. The boys planned to crush the pills and put them in her wine.
The murder plot changed after the pills failed to dissolve well in the wine and only managed to put the mother to sleep. After discussing the setback, the teens then agreed to kill Mironovas by strangling and stabbing her.
Court documents show that at around midnight on that fateful Saturday, Mironovas' son armed himself with a knife, mask, and gloves, and together with his 15-year-old friend, proceeded into her bedroom. As she lay asleep, the son's friend strangled her while the son stabbed her repeatedly in her neck -- resulting in instant death.
A neighbor spotted the teens leaving the house on Sunday morning.
No clear motive
Although there is still no clear motive to explain the teen's actions, authorities suspect Mironovas' move from Massachusets to Maine angered her son and led him to turn on his own mom.
The move to Maine was made last year, as Mironovas wanted to turn over a new leaf and begin a new career. She had since enrolled in a beauty school. The head of the beauty school said fellow classmates of Mironovas were devastated by the news and described her as a fun and cheerful person who had made a positive impact on them.
If prosecutors decide to charge the three teens as juveniles and get a conviction, they will only be jailed until they are 21 years of age, but if charged as adults, they could get 25 years to life.
After their first court appearance on Monday, the judge ruled that the teens would be detained at Long Creek in South Portland.