Chief: Woman facing murder charges admits to drowning 93-year-old grandmother in Eaton

EATON — A woman remains jailed Wednesday on preliminary charges of murder after Eaton police said she killed her 93-year-old grandmother in a bathtub Tuesday night.

>> Previous Coverage: Homicide investigation underway in Eaton; Suspect in custody

Eaton police were dispatched to the 300 block of East Somers Street shortly before 6 p.m. on report of a possible homicide, according to a spokesperson for the police department.

Heidi Matheny, 35, of Eaton was arrested and booked into the Preble County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder, the spokesperson said. Formal charges are pending from the Preble County Prosecutors Office.

Eaton Police Chief Steve Hurd told News Center 7 that Heidi admitted to officers she drowned her grandmother.

The victim was identified as Alice Matheny, 93, of Eaton.

A police report obtained through a News Center 7 public records request stated Heidi told police that she went behind her grandmother while she was doing dishes and she held her head in the sink “until she stopped blowing bubbles.”

Heidi told police she wasn’t sure if her grandmother was dead yet so she filled up the bathtub and held Alice under for 15 minutes until she stopped breathing and left her in the bathtub.

Afterward, Heidi walked from the apartment to the sheriff’s office.

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Police asked Heidi what led up to the drowning and she said “nothing special, it was a day like any other day”, according to a police report.

Police arrived on the scene and found Alice deceased in the bathtub and her body was transported to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.

Police are not looking for other suspects in connection to the death investigation.

News Center 7 is working to learn more and will continue updating this story.

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