BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — An Arkansas woman has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison after killing her grandmother with a hammer because she believed God told her she needed to do so.
Andrea Wilson, of Bentonville, pleaded guilty earlier this month to first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, aggravated assault, and third-degree battery.
According to the plea deal, Wilson went to visit her grandmother, Ruby Ross, on May 15, 2018. After the two ate dinner together, Ross went to sleep and Wilson struck her in the head with a hammer about four times.
Wilson said she believed God had told her she needed to make a sacrifice or she would be sent to hell.
Earlier on May 15, Wilson struck a bicyclist with her car while he was crossing the street at a crosswalk.
The bicyclist, Jonathan Hampton, said Wilson attempted to drive back toward him but her vehicle struck a boulder and became lodged on the rock. He said Wilson got out of her vehicle and asked him, “Can you help me?”
“There was a second from one moment to the next when her posture and eyes changed,” he said. He added, though, that she appeared normal.
According to court records, Wilson said she’d tried to run over Hampton in an effort to make her sacrifice to God but was unsuccessful.
“She then decided to murder her grandmother Ms. Ross to appease God,” according to the report.
Wilson underwent several mental evaluations as part of the case. She also said she was not taking her prescribed lithium at the time of both offenses.
Wilson was sentenced to 36 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections with a 10-year suspended sentence once released.