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Left: Joshua Lazore (Tupelo Police Department). Right: Sherri Lazore (Pegues Funeral Home).
Cops in Mississippi have arrested a man after he allegedly beat his mother to death with a shovel and then threw her body in a trash can.
Officers from the Tupelo Police Department conducted a welfare check at the Villages subdivision off Coley Road on April 29. When they arrived they found the victim, 62-year-old Sherri West Lazore, dead. Cops arrested her 30-year-old son, Joshua D. Lazore, on a first-degree murder charge.
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Additional details came out during a bond hearing on April 30. According to a courtroom report from the Tupelo Daily News, a detective testified that the younger Lazore answered the door when officers knocked. Cops asked where his mother was and he took them to the backyard where they found her body in the garbage can.
Joshua Lazore reportedly admitted to killing his mom. In addition to being beaten, she also suffered stab wounds to the head and neck area, cops said.
During the bond hearing, the defendant apparently appeared ready to accept responsibility for his actions.
“I’d like to waive my right to an attorney and get to the plea section,” Lazore reportedly said, adding that he wanted to represent himself.
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Judge Willie Allen prevented him from speaking further, reportedly saying that the hearing was just to set bond and any plea could be handled at a future date.
Allen denied Lazore bond. He remains at the Lee County Jail.
As the Daily News noted, Joshua Lazore had previously been arrested for destroying the lobby of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The agency said at the time that he entered the lobby and tried to turn himself in to jail authorities. Deputies said he had no active warrants, so they sent him away. He returned a few hours later and again tried to have cops arrest him. After they kicked him out, he returned and threw a chair at two TVs, destroying them. He also threw a computer on the floor. Cops then arrested him with felony destruction property.
Lazore pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation, according to the Daily News.
Sherri Lazore worked for nearly 30 years at the Tupelo Public School District before retiring in 2012, local NBC affiliate WTVA reported.
“She was a great teacher who people loved and adored,” spokesman Gregg Ellis told the outlet. “It’s a huge loss for Tupelo Public Schools and the Tupelo community.”
