The case against a man who allegedly murdered his mother at her home in Grove has moved to a higher court.
Michael Alan Webb, 35, of James City County, is scheduled for a jury trial March 27 in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court, according to online court records. His case was previously in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
The case was heard by a grand jury Jan. 17, according to records, and is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.
Webb’s indictment comes eight months after police found Edna Webb, 64, dead in her home from apparent blunt force trauma, police said. Her body was found after police responded to the home to perform a welfare check.
Webb’s preliminary hearing — where a judge determines whether there is probable cause to send his case to a higher court — had previously been postponed because doctors determined he could not understand the proceedings against him.
A Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge ordered Webb to be restored to competency in July. Restoring a defendant to competency requires medication, therapy, hospitalization or all three.
Since the alleged murder, Webb has been at both the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and hospitals.
A case file dating back to 2002 in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court shows Webb suffers from mental health issues and committed violence against his mother several times before her death.
Civil court documents filed in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court show a judge ordered Webb to vacate his mother’s house just two days before she was found dead in her kitchen.
Michael Webb had destroyed his mother’s property, broken house rules and threatened to kill her, court documents state.
Webb also served a 15-year prison sentence for robbing a 7-Eleven clerk in Grove, court documents state. He was sentenced in May 2002.
Documents indicate Webb had been out of prison since at least June 2016, possibly earlier. Probation released him from their supervision in February 2017.
Webb is scheduled to appear for arraignment at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court.
WYDaily archives were used in this story.
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