A Californian son who brutally murdered his mother with a tomahawk before cutting out her heart told police killing her felt 'good.' Retired high school teacher Nailah Pettigen, 64, was discovered dead at the Fremont apartment she shared with her son on September 29 after her ex-husband became concerned he could not reach her and alerted the authorities.
Her son Omar was arrested a few days later and has today been arraigned on charges of murder and the desecration of a corpse.
The 31-year-old told detectives he had attacked his victim with a hammer and an ax, before he took a revolver out of the closet and shot her in the back multiple times, according to court documents seen by SF Gate.
He then cut open her chest and took out her heart. The killed admitted he later masturbated because 'he needed to be with himself and needed a release after the event,' according to court documents.
Chillingly, police say that Pettigen has shown no remorse for the matricide. He even popped out for a few beers with a friend after the murder.
Fremont police Detective Craig Gaches said in the court affidavit: 'I asked how he felt about his actions and he said, 'good,' Gaches stated in the affidavit. 'During the interview, Omar did not show signs of remorse by crying or being upset in any way.'
Authorities were alerted to the shocking crime after Pettigen's father Saladen became concerned he could not get in touch with his ex-wife for their frequent prayers together over the phone.
Officers arrived at at Rancho Luna Apartments in the 3000 block of Monroe to find the door unlocked and Mrs Pettigen dead on the bedroom floor. There was no sign of forced entry or a burglary.
A long incision had been made along her chest and there were multiple gunshot wounds.
An autopsy found she was shot in the head once and six times in her back. She had also been cut open.
Pettigen claimed he had butchered his mother because 'she was killing herself with oxycodone she had become addicted to' from knee problems and hip surgeries.
He told detectives that she they had been arguing and his Mrs Pettigen had been shouting and pointing a gun at him.
Pettigen explained that he used a hammer, which was hanging from the wall in the bedroom, to knock the gun out of her hand.
The killer then left the room and returned with a tomahawk, a traditional North American axe, which he used to strike her around the head.
Court documents detail how, finally, he used a revolver kept at the home to shoot his mother in the back.Detectives heard how Pettigen had cut out her heart and held it in his hands before returning it to the body.
Family members told officers they had notice a significant change in Pettigen since he had returned from a trip Morocco a few months ago. They had also noticed that he and his mother appeared to be arguing.
Omar Malik Pettigen, was arrested in Kensington Sunday morning after police received a 911 call about a suspicious male carrying a duffel bag on the back porch of a home on Lake Drive. He has now been charged with murder and desecration of a corpse and is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail. American High School held a candlelight vigil in honor of the former Math teacher on Monday at St. James Episcopal Church in Fremont. Many of her friends, family and former students have been left devastated by the death of the popular teacher who retired in 2013. 'I tried to be just as good as her,' Rochelle Hooks, who worked with Pettigen for three years, told Contra Costa Times. 'I got a lot of ideas when I shared a room with her. Being a teacher, you're kind of in your own island, you don't really see what other teachers do, so sharing a room with her was a blessing.' Fremont Unified district spokesman Brian Killgore said of Pettigen: 'It takes some special employees to bridge gaps between a lot of languages, a lot of cultures, traditions, things like that.'
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