A Milwaukee woman is behind bars after police say she bludgeoned her mother to death in the family’s backyard with a four-pound rock — a killing that friends and neighbors say was both shocking and, in some tragic way, years in the making.
Her Mother Called 911 Before She Was Bludgeoned
Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Lauren Spors with first-degree intentional homicide and domestic abuse after her mother, 64-year-old Carrie Zettel, was found dead outside their home on West Ramsey Avenue on the afternoon of Oct. 12. According to police, Zettel called 911 just after 2 p.m. to report that her daughter was “being violent.” By the time officers arrived less than 20 minutes later, she was already dead. Investigators said Zettel suffered massive head trauma, with a blood-stained rock found in the grass nearby. Witnesses told officers they saw Spors standing over her mother, repeatedly striking her with what appeared to be the same rock.
Spors Was Covered In Blood When Police Found Her
Police say Spors was still at the scene when officers arrived — her clothes soaked in her mother’s blood. She was taken into custody without further incident. The case has reopened old wounds for people who knew the family. In interviews with local outlets, a longtime family friend said the relationship between mother and daughter had been fraught for years, complicated by mental illness, grief, and violence.
She Was Investigated For Killing Her Father
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In 2018, after the sudden death of her father, Jeffrey Spors, police investigated claims that Lauren may have played a role. Zettel told investigators at the time that her daughter had struck her husband over the head with two glass bottles. But the medical examiner later ruled the death consistent with an overdose from prescription medication, and no charges were filed. Even so, the episode left deep scars. Zettel filed a restraining order against her daughter that same year, citing fear for her safety. Court records show Spors violated that order twice in the years that followed. Each time, she was found mentally unfit to stand trial. In a 2018 letter to the court, she wrote, “My mom says I killed him, but I don’t remember doing it.”
Friends Say Her Mother Felt This Coming
Friends said that by this fall, Zettel had grown increasingly fearful. “She told me, ‘Maybe if she kills me, she’ll get the help she needs,’” family friend Loretta Moyer told CBS affiliate WDJT. “Carrie was hopeless at this point.” Just hours before her death, Zettel reportedly called that same friend, leaving a voicemail about her daughter pounding on the doors and windows of the house. Police responded that night but were unable to locate Spors. Now, days later, Zettel is dead, and Spors sits in the Milwaukee County Jail on $100,000 bond, awaiting a Nov. 21 court date.
