An Albemarle judge has certified an attempted murder charge for Phyllis Spangler, the 51-year-old woman who was arrested two months ago for assaulting her 94-year-old mother. Spangler appeared in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on October 22 for an incident that occurred on August 28 at The Laurels of Charlottesville, a retirement home where her mother, Pearl Powell, was staying. Spangler’s case is being sent to a grand jury in December, and if Spangler is indicted, the case will go to the Albemarle County Circuit Court for trial.
 Phyllis Spangler is alleged to have attempted to kill her mother in The Laurels retirement home for financial reasons. |
On the night of August 28, employees of The Laurels heard noises coming from Powell’s room. According to county Police Lieutenant John Teixeira, they entered to find Spangler sitting suspiciously close to her mother, with what looked to be her hand over her nose and mouth. Powell had bruises on her nose and face, and authorities at the hospital reported an assault to the police. Spangler was arrested that night and is being held in the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail.
Her lawyer, David Heilberg, insists that Spangler was intoxicated and that the attack could not have been premeditated. Because of this and a lack of criminal history, he requested bond on Monday. The judge denied it, but Spangler has a bond hearing scheduled for next week. "Intoxication is not a legal defense to any element of a crime in Virginia, except in a proper case for the element of premeditation in first-degree murder," says Heilberg.
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Moore insists that the motive behind the assault was financial, according to reports in The Daily Progress. Spangler allegedly had the option of either removing her mother from The Laurels or putting her house up for sale after Powell’s Medicaid payments ran out and the bills were not paid.
If Spangler is convicted, she faces up to 10 years in jail.
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