Eric R. Meagan and the river where he allegedly drowned his mother (New Milton Police Department and WVIT screenshot)
A 34-year-old Connecticut man was arrested this week for allegedly drowning his mother in a public park, called police to report the murder, then told officers he was ‘sacrificing’ his mother to ‘stop the demons’ . ”
Eric R. Meagan was arrested on Monday and charged with one count of murder in the death of 56-year-old Victoria Palmer, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a New Milford Police Department news release, officers responded to a 911 call at 8:25 a.m. Monday from a man – later identified as Meagan – saying he had just killed his mother in the river. Still near Harrybrooke Park, about 55 miles northwest of New Haven, Connecticut.
According to police, Meagan stayed on the line with the emergency dispatcher for several minutes and “described the events leading up to the incident and its location along the river.”
Once there, first responders took Meagan into custody without incident. Her mother was pulled from the river and taken to New Milford Hospital, where she died.
Further details of the tragic murder emerged during Meagan’s arraignment on Tuesday in Torrington before Superior Court Judge Chris Pelosi, the News-Times reported.
According to the report, police claim that when they located Meagan by the river, he told officers he hadn’t slept at all the night before because he had been ‘tormented by demons’. . He also allegedly admitted that he invited his mother to walk in the park with him – which they reportedly did on a regular basis – knowing he planned to “hurt” her.
“I tried to drown my mother,” he reportedly told police, adding that he was trying to “stop the demons” by “sacrificing her.”
“He described the demons as insects all over him but he can’t see them. He can only smell them, and they have tormented him for weeks,” police wrote in an arrest report obtained by The News-Times.
The report further detailed how Meagan allegedly described how he planned the attack on her mother and invited her to join him on one of their walks in the park. When they got to the edge of the river, he reportedly described how he pushed her into the water, then put her in a headlock and held her below the surface for about 10 minutes.
Meagan said his mother fought him off for several minutes, but he could hold her as he slowly moved away from shore and into deeper water until she went completely limp, according to the News-Times.
After her mother’s body went limp, Meagan reportedly told investigators he returned to shore, dragging her body with him and leaving her to float face down in the water.
Meagan – who lives with ‘significant mental health issues’, according to his lawyer – also allegedly explained the tragic reason he chose to kill his mother after a previous attempt to strangle demons failed one of the family cats.
“He said strangling his cats was his first attempt to stop the demons, but it wasn’t enough. When asked why he chose his mother, he replied ‘because I love her the most.’ He said he felt safe now,” police wrote in court documents, according to the News-Times. sacrifice to save him.”
Meagan is currently being held on $2 million bail and is due back in court on July 7.
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