His sisters spoke when a Bullhead City man was sentenced to prison for killing his mother. Bette Jean Vaughn, 74, died when stabbed at her breakfast table by Travers Proulx, 45, in Aug., 2019.
“I love him and I hate him at the same time,” one sister told Mohave County Judge Doug Camacho during the Oct. 29 sentencing hearing. “I won’t excuse him, but I’ll be here for him.”
Another sister asked the judge to impose the maximum punishment for her brother.
“This is somebody who should never leave the world of prison,” she said. “I pray for your soul Travers. I love you. I will always love you, but you are going to have to pay for what you’ve done.”
The woman said she is sorry that Proulx had been sexually abused by his father as a boy. But she said she and others endured the same abuse without becoming a criminal.
Proulx told the judge he had been arguing with his mother when she threatened that she would molest his young daughter. “I was defending my daughter,” said Proulx, offering no remorse for the stabbing.
Judge Camacho and Deputy County Attorney Reid Weisberg told Proulx they didn’t believe his story about the victim’s molestation threat. Neither did the sister who spoke against the defendant.
Public Defender Robin Puchek said Proulx was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the homicide.
Proulx was convicted of second-degree murder through a plea agreement. Judge Camacho ordered a 25-year prison term.
Dave Hawkins
