Atlanta woman pleads guilty to assaulting 94-year-old mother with hammer

Sandy Mathis (left) pleaded guilty to using a hammer to assault her 94-year-old mother Willie Monroe, breaking both of her hands.

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office/Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office/Channel 2 Action News

Sandy Mathis (left) pleaded guilty to using a hammer to assault her 94-year-old mother Willie Monroe, breaking both of her hands.

A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to assaulting her 94-year-old mother with a hammer inside her northwest Atlanta home, authorities said.

Sandy Elaine Mathis, 56, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery after breaking both of her mother’s hands in December, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

For 20 years, Mathis lived with her mother in the 1700 block of Thomas Drive, AJC.com previously reported. The incident began after Monroe asked Mathis’ boyfriend to leave her home that night.

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Mathis then picked up a hammer and hit her mother on the head, back and hands, according to Atlanta police. Mathis initially told police her mother’s injuries were from a recent fall, which is why she wasn’t arrested at the scene.

Shortly after the incident, police sent a statement to AJC.com that said, in part: “Officers offered the mother EMS, but she declined several times. At the time of the call, officers did not feel there was evidence to support the claim the mother was assaulted with a hammer.”

However, investigators looking into the incident later learned that Monroe admitted herself to Grady Memorial Hospital after officers left. Doctors determined her hands were broken, which prompted police to obtain warrants for Mathis’ arrest.

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Mathis was sentenced to five years on probation and five years to serve suspended, which means if she violates her probation, she will be sent to prison, the DA’s office said. Monroe asked for her daughter, who is still her caretaker, not to be sentenced to prison.

“We understand the seriousness of the charges and accusations in this case, but we are making this decision based on the recommendations and wishes of the victim and her son, Ron Monroe,” the DA’s office said in the release.

The DA’s office said it plans to maintain close contact with Monroe to be “sure that the environment is safe for her moving forward.”

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