A man who fatally struck his mother with the blunt end of a splitting maul at their Jamul home was sentenced in El Cajon Superior Court on Tuesday to 15 years to life in state prison.
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Travis Bodle, 56, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2024 slaying of his 77-year-old mother, Vicki Bodle.
The District Attorney’s Office said Vicki Bodle had Parkinson’s disease and was partially paralyzed, necessitating a caregiver.
The caregiver, who was picking up lunch for the victim when the Jan. 19, 2024, attack occurred, later found the woman seriously injured and called police.
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Sheriff’s deputies responded to the family’s home on Hillside Estates Drive and arrested Travis Bodle. Vicki Bodle later died at a hospital from blunt-force trauma to her head and neck.
A motive for the killing was not disclosed, but the District Attorney’s Office noted that Travis Bodle has schizophrenia.
“Vicki Bodle was a vulnerable elderly woman who depended on others for care, and tragically, she was killed by her own son,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. “The cases involving family members severely injuring or killing members of their own family carry additional complexity and pain to the immediate family, neighbors and community. This sentence holds Bodle accountable for the devastating loss of his mother and provides justice for her and those who cared for her.”
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