A shocking tragedy unfolded on Halloween when a former television news anchor in Missouri allegedly stabbed her elderly mother to death, claiming she did it “to save herself,” according to Wichita, Kansas police. The accused, 47-year-old Angelynn Mock, was taken into custody Friday after neighbors witnessed her emerge from a blood-soaked home and plead for help. The ex-TV anchor is now charged with first-degree murder.
Neighbor Alyssa Castro told KAKE News that Mock appeared “with like blood, like her hands were filled, her body was filled with blood, asking to call 911.” Moments later, Mock reportedly took Castro’s phone, ran back inside, and told dispatchers she had stabbed her mother “to save herself,” authorities said.
When officers arrived, they found Mock waiting outside with cuts on her hands. Inside, they discovered her 80-year-old mother, Anita Avers, unresponsive in bed with multiple stab wounds. Avers was rushed to a local hospital but died within 30 minutes, according to the Wichita Police Department.
Mock was booked into Sedgwick County Jail under a $1 million bond. Authorities have not released a motive, though the phrase “to save herself” remains central to investigators’ efforts to understand the crime.
Neighbors described the quiet community as shaken. “Like, we never know what anyone is going through,” Castro said. “This happened randomly, but as long as we were able to get 911 and see what we can do, that’s all I really care about.”
Family members confirmed that Avers worked as a marriage and family therapist at Wichita Counseling Professionals. Police continue to investigate what led the former anchor to commit the gruesome attack.
