Son Fatally Shoots Mom for Taking Phone Away, Keeping Him from Talking to His Girlfriend: Police

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Anderson County Sheriff's Office/Hatmaker Funeral Home

The first thing the then-16-year-old did after her death was call his girlfriend and tell her he found his mom lying in her bed covered in blood -- before finally coming clean with police, detailing the elaborate steps he allegedly took to execute her.

A 21-year-old man is going to prison for the murder of his mother four years ago, after he allegedly shot her at close range while she was sleeping because she took his phone away.

Shawn Tyler Willis was 16 years old on April 20, 2020 when police were called to his home in Rocky Top, Tennessee. The Anderson County Sheriff's Department found Sandy K. Willis deceased in her bed, having been shot at close range on the left side of her head while sleeping -- with her own gun.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder. The reduced charge from first-degree was in exchange for Willis agreeing to plead guilty to murder. He was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Law&Crime notes that while parole is generally possible after 10 years in Tennessee for sentences like his, District Attorney General Dave Clark made it clear in a press release to its Facebook page that Willis will serve "100 percent" of his time, while noting, "The sentence in this case was heavily influenced by restrictions our State has placed on sentences for juveniles convicted of murder."

According to court records, Willis called his girlfriend after the fact and told her that he'd found his mother "in the bed with blood on her." The girlfriend's father then went to the house to check on Sandy, "finding her deceased," per documents seen by NBC affiliate WBIR.

According to investigators, Willis "gave numerous conflicting stories as to what had happened." It wasn't until weeks later that they say he finally came clean, writing that "defendant did admit to shooting his mother in the head as she slept."

In a voluntary interview with Detective Don Scuglia that was filed in court, Willis detailed exactly what allegedly happened that night. "Shawn T. Willis confessed to taking his mother's pistol from off of her nightstand as she was asleep," a juvenile court petition of that interview states.

It goes on to say that he "took the pistol downstairs, as to conceal the sound of loading it," before returning "back upstairs to his mother's room." Willis then, per the petition, "walked around the victim's bed, to the opposite side of the room, positioned himself alongside her bed, and shot her at close range, on the left side of her head, thus causing her death."

Sandy Willis was shot twice while she was sleeping after having come home from working a night shift, said prosecutors. They said that the then-teen "became upset" when she took his phone away from him, keeping him from talking to his girlfriend, per ABC affiliate WATE. According to court documents, the teen "protested" losing his phone, but his mother held firm and went upstairs to go to bed.

"This shocking crime demanded justice, and I am happy that it has been resolved as well as the law will allow," said District Attorney General Dave Clark. "We remain grateful for the support of this grieving family that has suffered a wound that cannot heal."

Family members were in court, per WBIR, for the plea agreement and were reportedly "pleased" with how the case was resolved, according to the prosecutor's office press release.