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31-year-old Toledo man arrested, tells police he killed his 71-year-old mother

Travis Lewton told police he killed his mother by choking her and then tried to dispose of her body behind their south Toledo home, according to court documents.

TOLEDO, Ohio — A 31-year-old Toledo man was arrested for murder on Saturday and later told police he killed his own mother in their south Toledo home, according to a Toledo Municipal Court document.

Toledo police say they were dispatched to a home in the 1800 block of Wildwood Rd. on Saturday to check on the safety of 71-year-old Nancy Lewton. 

Upon searching a wooded area behind the home they found Lewton's body.

On Saturday afternoon, Nancy's son Travis Lewton was arrested and charged with aggravated and premeditated murder before being booked in the Lucas County Jail.

According to the court document, Lewton told detectives he attacked his mother after she came home and choked her until she stopped breathing.

Lewton says he then took the body to a ravine behind his house before setting the body on fire and stuffing it in a sewer pipe.

Lewton also told detectives he had been thinking about killing his mother for about a week.

Credit: WTOL
Travis Lewton, 31.

Police say the victim had been in Florida a few days ago. They go on to say when family members couldn't get ahold of her when she got back from Florida they requested that police do a welfare check. 

Police also say they found a burned area behind the garage in their investigation.

A neighbor says Travis Lewton was a kind-hearted but troubled person who has allegedly hurt his mother before. They also say the victim was a kind lady who loved her son.

Lewton was arraigned Monday in Toledo Municipal Court and bond was set at $1 million. The Lucas County Coroner's Officer told WTOL 11 that Lewton's autopsy results are "pending."

The homicide marks the 46th in the city this year.

This is a developing story. Stay with WTOL 11 for the latest information as it becomes available.

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