Son With Autism Charged in Mom's Murder

The autistic son of a Kent State professor has been charged with her murder, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. On Jan. 29, Sky Walker allegedly beat his mother, Gertrude Steuernagel, so severely that she died a week later from her injuries. Walker, 18, has been found incompetent to manage his own affairs, but that ruling has no bearing on his criminal competency, the Record-Courier of Ravenna, Ohio, reported.

Friends told the Enquirer that Steuernagel was devoted to caring for her son. (More Kent State stories.)