Following an argument over the volume on his PlayStation, a man from New Hampshire fatally stabbed his mother and set her body on fire. He was sentenced to 40 years to life in state prison on Tuesday. Thomas Humphrey, 47, was taken into custody at the end of the previous year on suspicion of killing Linda Tufts, 70, in their Goffstown, New Hampshire, home. He is charged with nearly beheading his mother, stabbing her 22 times, and setting her corpse on fire.
Man Given 40 Years to Life in Prison for Murdering His Mother:
After a dispute with his mother, 70, over the loudness of a video game he was playing, a 47-year-old man in New Hampshire may spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering her, stabbing her more than 20 times, and almost decapitating her.
Authorities said that Thomas Humphrey was sentenced to 40 years to life in a state prison for the murder of Linda Tufts by New Hampshire Superior Court Judge N. William Delker on Tuesday.
In the past, Humphrey entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder related to the deadly assault. In response to his mother’s body being set on fire, he pled guilty to one count of criminal arson. As a result, he was suspended for five to ten years in jail to be served after the life sentence.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Delker reportedly used the chance to discuss the brutal nature of Humphrey’s acts, according to a report from Manchester ABC station WMUR.
“This is one of the most brutal murders I’ve presided over in my more than ten years on the bench, as I said,” the woman was quoted as saying. “It would be dangerous not to impose a very lengthy state prison sentence given the brutality of this crime.”
Before his mother passed away, Humphrey had been residing in the basement of his Goffstown, New Hampshire, house.
Humphrey was allegedly playing the PlayStation system Tufts had given him for his 47th birthday on the afternoon of December 4, 2023, when things started to go wrong. Humphrey, 47, allegedly became enraged and stabbed Tufts 22 times after the two got into a fight about how loud his video game was. Humphrey set his mother’s corpse on fire in the house following the stabbing.
When police, firefighters, and emergency medical workers arrived at the single-family home around 2:20 p.m., they discovered an active fire. Authorities doing out a safety check found an adult female inside the house, subsequently identified as Tufts, who seemed to be dead from suspected knife wounds after putting out the fire and entering.
Humphrey was found inside the house as well, with a knife. He was taken to a local hospital to receive treatment for what seemed to be self-inflicted stabbing wounds before facing charges in connection with the murder of his mother.
Humphrey’s parents had previously booted him out of their home and had just recently given their permission for him to move back in, according to a neighbor who spoke with Boston NBC station WHDH. It is said that Humphrey’s father was at work when the deadly incident occurred.