Holly woman allegedly murdered by son was scared of him, family says

HOLLY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Investigators say a Holly woman's son allegedly murdered her just before Thanksgiving because she scolded him for his life choices. 

James Robert Hall, 39, is now facing charges of first-degree murder, unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle, and larceny in a building for the death of his mother, 59-year-old Kristine Lynn Hall.

The backstory:

The victim's body was discovered by her brother on the afternoon of Nov. 25. According to police, the brother and his mother had been calling Kristine, but she did not answer. This was unusual for her, he told police, adding that they had been together the night before and planned to get together that day.

When the brother went to Kristine's house, he saw her vehicle was missing, so he forced his way into her home, where he found her dead in bed. He did not see any immediate signs of foul play, but decided to call police because his sister had let her son, James, live with her. 

According to police, Kristine was allegedly scared of James, slept with her door locked, and would not allow him to drive her vehicle. Additionally, Kristine did not have any known life-threatening health conditions.

Investigators said they found signs of a struggle, along with bruising on the victim's neck.

Search for suspect:

After signs that Kristine may have been killed, police began looking for James, who had an active warrant for breaking and entering.

Details about James and Kristine's missing vehicle were entered into the statewide law-enforcement network. This led to notifications that the vehicle had been detected in Jackson, police said. 

During the search for James, Kristine's daughter reported that James allegedly admitted to his father that he had killed his mother.

Holly police were then contacted by members of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, who had arrested James on the open warrant after a party store clerk allegedly overhead James telling someone on a phone call that he was thinking about killing himself. Officers arrived at the store and spoke to James, who allegedly told them he had killed his mother.

Suspect's confession:

When Holly detectives arrived to speak with James, they said he admitted to killing his mother the evening of Nov. 24 because he was tired of her criticizing his life choices.

According to police, James told them that Kristine had called him into her room that night and began "scolding him for his life choices and for not amounting to anything." James said that his mother always said this to him, and he was tired of hearing it, so he climbed on top of her and smothered her with a pillow, police said. 

James said he then stole money, jewelry, and his mother's vehicle before fleeing to Kalamazoo and calling his father, who he believed lived in the area. During this time, he also allegedly used his mother's stolen money to gamble at a casino in the area.

What they're saying:

Holly Police Chief Jerry Narsh thanked officers for their efforts to find and take James into custody.

"James Hall was angry his mother was parenting him, so he killed her. He took the life,that gave him life. Then he took her money, her jewelry and her vehicle because he was challenged on his life choices. Then he went to a casino," Narsh said.

What's next:

James was charged with murder, larceny, and car theft earlier this week. He remains in the Oakland County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

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