GREAT FALLS — A Great Falls man has been charged with several felonies for allegedly killing his grandmother.
Christopher James Jenkins, 41, has been charged with deliberate homicide, assault with a weapon, strangulation of partner/family member, and tampering with physical evidence. Bond was set at $750,000.
Court documents state that on Friday, May 8, police officers responded to a residence at 1010 12th St. NW after a person reported that he had found his neighbor deceased.
The caller said it appeared the female victim had been beaten to death.
The victim is identified in the charging documents as Lorraine Jenkins, who was born in 1930.
When officers arrived, they talked with Christopher Jenkins in the backyard of the residence, where he was "doing yardwork." When an officer asked what kind of yardwork, Jenkins reportedly said he was getting ready to bury his grandmother.
Jenkins was then taken to the Great Falls Police Department and interviewed. Jenkins stated that he went up to his grandmother, who was sitting in a chair in the living room, and begged her to kill him.
Jenkins said his grandmother would not kill him, and then told police that he had to kill his grandma "so the boy wouldn't have to kill his mom."
Jenkins then said his grandmother's face changed and "it was not his grandma anymore."
Court documents state that he admitted killing his grandmother by choking her, and beat her with tools, including a metal stick he retrieved from the barbecue.
He reportedly said he did not kill his grandmother; he killed "that."
Jenkins told police he then put on his grandmother's robe after showering, briefly saw himself as his grandmother, then removed the robe and placed it in the same pile of clothes that were present when he killed her.
Jenkins then went to the backyard to look for a place to bury his grandmother. He stated he had a shovel and started to dig a hole but decided not to bury her in the yard and placed the shovel in the shed.
According to the charging documents, Jenkins has convictions for child endangerment, sexual assault, and sexual intercourse without consent.
