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Steven Pratt kills mum Gwendolyn Pratt days after being released from jail
- FEBRUARY 19, 2016.
Killer ... Steven Pratt pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing his mum Gwendolyn Pratt, 64.
..A MAN has pleaded guilty to killing his mother two days after he completed a 30-year prison sentence for killing a neighbour.
Steven Pratt pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing Gwendolyn Pratt, 64, at their Atlantic City home in October 2014. An autopsy found that she died from massive blunt-force head injuries.
Mrs Pratt had recently hosted a welcome-home party for her son and her sister said his mother had taken him to an iHOP restaurant after he was released.
Pratt was 15 when he shot and killed his next-door neighbour Michael Anderson in an apartment building in 1984.
He was tried as an adult and was convicted of murder in 1986.
According to court records, Pratt and Anderson argued after Pratt and some of his friends refused to leave an apartment hallway where they were noisily hanging out. Pratt went back to Anderson’s apartment with a lead pipe, but Anderson took the pipe away from Pratt and bloodied his face, the records show.
Killed ... Gwendolyn Pratt had recently hosted a welcome-home party for her son, Steven Pratt. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
Back to jail ... Steven Pratt pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing his mum Gwendolyn Pratt. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
Pratt then returned with a borrowed handgun and shot Anderson in the face and shoulder, the court records show. Anderson, who Pratt said acted like a father to him, died days after the shooting.
In October 2014, Pratt told a judge through tears after killing his mother that he was guilty and didn’t want a trial.
In a video filmed at the time by the Press of Atlantic City, the judge told Pratt: “Now sir, you have a lawyer? Or you may use a public defender.”
Pratt told the judge: “I have nobody.”
The judge also asked Pratt if he knew about the bail amount.
Pratt at the time replied: “It doesn’t even matter, sir.”
Sobbing, Pratt said at one point during the arraignment: “I’m sorry. I have failed.”
Pratt, 47, must serve 85 per cent of a 25-year prison sentence before he’ll be eligible for parole.
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