Florida authorities are investigating a chilling incident after a woman claimed she took her elderly mother’s life in an effort to honor her last wish—an act she called letting her mother die ‘with dignity.’

Shockwaves rippled through a quiet Palm Beach neighborhood just after Christmas, when the lifeless body of 97-year-old Patricia Blake was discovered inside her home. Her 66-year-old daughter, Martha Jo Blake, now faces a first-degree murder charge after allegedly confessing to police that she suffocated her mother.

Patricia’s fate came to light after Palm Beach County deputies responded to a distress call on the morning of December 26. Once inside, officers found Martha Jo Blake, who initially told a routine story: her mother had been battling Parkinson’s disease and thyroid problems and had last been seen alive the previous night. But that tale quickly unraveled.

After the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner conducted a thorough autopsy, suspicions mounted. The examiner’s report highlighted evidence of asphyxiation—a telltale lack of blood pooling in the nose, bruising inside Patricia’s mouth and cheeks, alarming petechial hemorrhages around the eyes, and a freshly fractured neck. These grisly clues, as noted in the official affidavit, contradicted any claim of natural death.

Detectives noted Martha’s emotional attachment at the scene—she refused to leave her mother’s body while officials processed the home both women shared. However, when questioned further in a patrol car (without being detained), Martha’s narrative shifted dramatically.

Law enforcement learned that Martha had been the primary caregiver for her mother over the past five years. She admitted the pair had tried to explore ‘death with dignity’ laws with Patricia’s doctor in Maine about 18 months earlier. But the physician reportedly shot down legal euthanasia, explaining Patricia’s health struggles did not qualify as terminal.

According to the new account, mother and daughter weighed their options for ending Patricia’s life—including an overdose—but lacked access to any medications potent enough to do the job. In the end, Martha told police, the elderly woman begged her not to let her linger in misery. 

Investigators allege that Martha then suffocated her mother, using pressure on her face and neck, actions now documented in the damning autopsy. 

The shocking case joins a growing list of so-called mercy killings, raising thorny ethical questions while the courts decide Martha Blake’s fate.