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A Connecticut son bludgeoned his mother to death with a hammer, then ran out into the woods behind his ritzy family home, screaming out for his “mama.”
Police arrested 20-year-old Sebastian Van Stockum on Oct. 24 after he admitted to fatally attacking his mother, Laura Williams, 55, with his fists and a hammer inside their nearly $2 million home in New Canaan — about 10 miles outside of Stamford, according to the New Canaan Police Department.
Officers said they responded to a report of a man shouting “Mama” from the woods at around 10:36 p.m. that evening when 911 received a call from Van Stockum, “stating that he killed his mother.”
When responding officers arrived at the home, Van Stockum opened the door with his clothes, face, and hands fully covered in blood, and was immediately put in handcuffs.
They then found Williams suffering from devastating head wounds and a cracked skull outside the home — and a blood-smeared hammer lying beside her on the grass.
First responders attempted CPR to revive her, but she was declared dead at the scene from the brutal injuries.
Cops also spotted another big pool of blood in the driveway, only a few feet from where her body lay, WFSB reported, citing the police report.
While Van Stockum was cuffed, he allegedly told officers that he “did it” and stated, “I took my mom’s life.”
The alleged killer son also murmured to cops that he “tried using a knife, tried using a hammer, and used his fists,” and that he was not mentally well, the outlet reported.
He was then hauled away to the New Canaan Police Headquarters and charged with murder, where a mugshot showed the 20-year-old with blood on his face and multiple scratch marks.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner listed Williams’ cause of death as blunt injuries to her head and manner of death as homicide.
Van Stockum appeared in Stamford Superior Court on Monday, where state attorney Paul Ferencek told the court of the “especially violent murder” he is accused of committing.
“The victim was found bludgeoned to death with extreme trauma to their skull,” Ferencek said.
Defense lawyer Philip Russell, who appeared for Van Stockum at his bond hearing, called the situation “shocking.”
“This was a terrible shock,” Russell said. “Nobody anticipated this or foresaw this. At this point, there’s an awful lot of loose ends. All I can say is it would be premature for anyone to rush to judgment. Obviously, this is a tragic situation.”
Van Stockum is being held on a $2 million bond, with his next court appearance scheduled for Nov 3.
His father — local restaurateur Dirk Van Stockum — sat in the courtroom on Monday but did not make any comments about his alleged killer son.
His uncle told the Stamford Advocate the 20-year-old grew up in New York City and then northern New Jersey before landing in ritzy New Canaan. He graduated from New Canaan High School in 2023, with classmates describing him as “socially awkward.”
His uncle, David Williams, said Van Stockum spent roughly a year living with his maternal grandmother in Virginia, his mother’s home state, but “it didn’t work out.”
Williams, who grew up in Charlottesville, Va, was a single mother who worked as a high-end antique dealer.
She graduated from Georgetown University in 1993 and was a talented writer and artist who also worked briefly in film production in Los Angeles, her brother said.
Williams later moved to New York City, where she met Sebastian’s father. However, the two never married.
If found guilty, Van Stockum faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.
English (US)