BULLHEAD CITY – A Bullhead City man faces at least a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to the brutal beating death of his mother. A first-degree murder charge would be reduced to a second-degree murder conviction under terms of the deal entered Thursday, Feb. 8 before Judge Billy Sipe.
Consistent with police accounts, Deputy Mohave County Attorney Amanda Claerhout said that Joseph Houston, 28, used a rock to smash a sliding glass door to gain access to his mother’s home in the 1300 block of Lincoln Lane on April 21, 2023.
Claerhout said Houston’s brother left the home while the defendant argued with their mother Janice Houston, 51. She told Judge Sipe that Houston used his fist to strike his mother about her head and body before he stomped on her head with his feet and repeatedly beat her with a shower curtain rod.
What prompted the violence is unclear.
Terms of the deal require judge Sipe to impose a 10- to 25-year prison term during a March 11 sentencing hearing.
