YORK COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A York County teen who shot his mother 11 times inside their home, killing her, last May was sentenced in court on Wednesday.
John Totherow, who was 14 years old at the time of the murder, entered a guilty plea in court to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
According to court officials, Totherow shot and killed his mother, identified as Alethea ‘Lisa’ Totherow, on Tuesday afternoon, May 3, 2022, at their home after she got back from work.
The deadly shooting happened sometime between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. that day. Following the murder, the suspect went over to a neighbor’s house, called 911, and said ‘an intruder came into the home,’ and he fled at his mother’s instruction, and that he ‘heard a gunshot as he fled.’
Evidence discovered inside the home and several autopsies pointed to inconsistencies and John Totherow giving false statements regarding the crime.
The weapon used, a Black Ruger LCP .380, belonged to the suspect’s father who confirmed to police that he would store the weapon unloaded. The gun was found in the nightstand of the master bedroom, with a box of .380 Agulia full metal jacket cartridges in the drawer of the dresser, with gloves and ear muff-type style protection on the bed of the master bedroom. The gun was found outside of the holster, which was not normal, according to the suspect’s father.
An autopsy showed Totherow was shot 11 times, with six projectiles recovered from her body.
“These six projectiles were sent to SLED along with the spent projectile and the spent casings from the scene to be compared to the Ruger .380 recovered from the master bedroom. All spent shell casings recovered on scene were determined to have been fired by the Ruger and all spent projectiles recovered through the autopsy and on scene, with the exception of one which was inconclusive due to damage, were determined to have been fired by the Ruger .380,” court officials said.
The Ruger .380 had a capacity of six in the clip but could accommodate one in the chamber. Authorities said it appeared that the suspect shot his mother until he emptied the gun and then went back to the master bedroom to reload, and came back and continued shooting.
“What remains unknown about this case is why this happened. Ultimately, the defendant would give differing accounts to law enforcement and to his own expert. The common thread of his statements to his expert was tension between he and his mother regarding being homeschooled. He indicated that they had a dispute about a report that he was supposed to write for his homeschool that day prior to his mother leaving for work. He indicated he was angry with his mother about this and was not able to calm himself down before she got home.”
Court officials state that the suspect said he had been able to calm himself down in the past, but was unable to on May 3, 2022, prior to the murder.
