A Sugar Notch man accused of violently beating his mother to death while hallucinating on drugs pleaded guilty to third-degree murder on Tuesday and was promptly sentenced to 40 years in state prison. Erik M. Watkins, 42, apologized tearfully in court Tuesday morning after admitting to severely beating Patricia Watkins, 60, to death on Dec. 13, 2020.
“I’d like to start by apologizing to my family. I’m extremely sorry. No words can describe how dreadful I feel. I adored my mother. I adore my family and am sorry. “I’m very sorry,” Erik Watkins remarked. “I was suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues.
I took what I thought was Xanax, and it put me into a whirlwind, causing me to hallucinate, have delusions, and do things I can’t express. I’ve lost everything because of drugs. Erik Watkins filed his plea on Tuesday, with his trial set to begin with jury selection at the end of the week. In doing so, he avoided a mandatory life sentence if found guilty of first-degree murder.
In response, Luzerne County First District Attorney Tony Ross gave an agreed-upon sentence of 15 to 40 years in jail. Mark Bufalino, a defense attorney, represented Watkins. During a hearing Monday morning, President Judge Michael T. Vough accepted Erik Watkins’ plea and issued the sentence, adding that he “brutally” beat to death the lady who gave him life.
According to prosecutors, Watkins told police that after smoking marijuana, he awoke and heard a “higher power” instructing him to attack his mother. He claimed to have passed out throughout the attack, but he did remember repeatedly punching his mother in the face with his fists and feet. Patricia Watkins was discovered dead in a bathtub, with her face “caved in” and scarcely recognizable.
Before Erik Watkins was sentenced, numerous of Patricia Watkins’ relatives spoke to the court, outlining how Erik Watkins’ drug habit had scarred the family. Her niece asked for Erik Watkins’ maximum sentence.
“I will never forgive you for this,” she stated. “You killed the only member of this family that hadn’t already cut ties to you.” Her other son, Jeremy, characterized the loss as “unimaginable” and claimed it had an impact on the entire family.
“Mom didn’t deserve to die like that,” he remarked through tears. “She lost everyone and was left with only us. She was willing to do anything for us. She just wanted us to live a wonderful life.” Watkins has been imprisoned without bail at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility since his arrest on the day his mother was killed. He was remanded to the state Department of Corrections to finish his term, with credit for 1,361 days served.
