Teen writes chilling note admitting to killing his mom and stuffing her in a trash can, cops say
Isaac Gideon Tracy, 17, called 911 and said he wanted to get himself arrested ‘because he killed his mom’
A North Carolina teenager allegedly left behind a chilling handwritten confession note after fatally stabbing his mother and stuffing her body inside a trash container in their garage, according to newly released court records.
Isaac Gideon Tracy, 17, a sophomore at Jack Britt High School, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Katharine Svaldi, 49, the Fayetteville Police Department announced.
The brutal killing was reported shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday at the family’s home in the 1900 block of Daphne Circle in the Arran Lake neighborhood of Fayetteville, police said.
An affidavit obtained by The Fayetteville Observer revealed disturbing details of the crime. It stated that Tracy's grandparent called 911 after he confessed to killing his mother.
Around the same time, Tracy also called 911 himself and told a dispatcher that “he wanted to get himself arrested because he killed his mom,” according to the affidavit.
When officers arrived, they found Svaldi’s body partially inside a recycling container in the garage. Police also observed Tracy with blood on his clothes and injuries described as self-inflicted, the affidavit said.
Police searched his home and found a handwritten note on the kitchen table, allegedly written by Tracy, “detailing why he committed the crime,” according to the affidavit. Authorities did not disclose the contents of the letter.
Neighbors told ABC11 that they were stunned by the violence in the normally quiet community.
“Can you imagine… to kill your mom. That’s very sad,” Diana Konitzer said, adding that she was “very shocked” and that she had “never heard like this in my neighborhood.”
Kirsten, a close friend of Svaldi, told ABC11 that she was heartbroken over the mom’s death.
“When I finally found out that it was her, devastated, heartbroken, you know, nobody deserves to lose their life like that at anybody’s hands,” she said.
She recalled a favorite memory they shared together.
“The one memory I have of her. We got to go to a Beauty and Beast prom,” she said. “So we dressed up and danced and just had the best time.”
Kirsten said she “hurts for her family, and I hurt for her son,” adding that she hopes the public will not rush to judgment.
“I just want people to not judge,” she said. “We don’t know where anyone or any family is going through, and to speculate on what either one of them could have been, is not needed.”
Because of the severity of the charge and his age, Tracy is being prosecuted as an adult under North Carolina law, which requires 16- and 17-year-olds accused of certain serious felonies to begin in adult court, where records are public.
He remains in custody without bond.
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks