TROY, Illinois — The Madison County State's Attorney on Thursday charged a woman's son with her death inside the home they shared in Troy, Illinois.
Prosecutors said Neil Howard strangled Norma Caraker on Tuesday inside the home on the 600 block of Lower Marine Road.
Officers were called to the home at about 1:30 a.m. the next day for a welfare check, Troy police Chief Chris Wasser said. Caraker, 60, was not breathing and unresponsive when they arrived.
Officers tried to unsuccessfully resuscitate Caraker, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Caraker was the widow of former Troy Mayor Charles “Tom” Caraker, who served from 1997-2013.
Howard, 45, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He is being held in the Madison County Jail on $3 million bond.
Caraker's death was the second in Troy in just over a week.
On Sept. 5, police found Maha Tlimob unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds inside a home in the 2100 block of Tramore.
Michael Perham, 52, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in her death. Perham and Tiimob were in a relationship.
Perham was being held at the Madison County Jail, but he was released last Thursday after posting 10% of a $1 million bond.