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E-mail StorySuspect in Boron slaying tried to behead his victim, court documents say
| Friday, May 30 2008 5:22 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Jun 2 2008 7:54 AM
Bryan Eckroth dropped a knife and ax to choke a 72-year-old woman to shut her up, he told a detective.
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As Eckroth choked Rosita Newman in her Boron apartment late one night in April, the victim kept yelling for Paul, court documents said.
“I don’t know how the hell she said it so many (expletive) times,” Eckroth told police. “My grip must be kind of weak.”
Eckroth, 23, admitted to choking and stabbing Newman and trying to chop off her head, according to court documents. Eckroth was stabbed to death, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Department.
Eckroth was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
“You want me to tell you that I (expletive) grabbed a (expletive) knife and ax and (expletive) went over to (expletive) (expletive)’s house and just ran in her door and choked the (expletive) out of her and ran out the back?” he told a detective. “That’s what happened.”
On April 22, Eckroth said he went home after getting off from working at Subway. Eckroth said he was upset after seeing his ex-girlfriend at the eatery.
He went to a friend’s house and drank Jack Daniels and Windsor while watching "American Idol," court documents said.
Eckroth said he was discharged from the Navy and from a religious college because of his drinking problems.
“Maybe I’m just some evil (expletive),” Eckroth told a detective during an interview.
Eckroth then went to Newman’s home at the Desert Lake Apartments and knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m., according to deputies. He lived in the same complex.
Newman screamed when she opened the door and saw Eckroth with a knife and an ax.
Eckroth said he planned on scaring her, he told a detective. He was wearing latex gloves and thought about killing Newman, the court document said.
Eckroth dropped the weapons and wrapped his hands around Newman’s neck, the court document said. Newman passed out and fell to the ground.
He tried to chop off Newman’s head, but the ax was too dull, according to the court document. Eckroth stabbed her seven to eight times, he told a detective.
Eckroth ran out the back door and rode off on his bike. He crashed and asked a maintenance man to help fix it.
A neighbor reported Newman screaming in her apartment and her body was soon found. Eckroth was arrested at the scene, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Eckroth said he picked Newman because she was an easy target to kill, the court document said.
Eckroth said he has thoughts of killing people, but “I mean, not actually pulling a gun and shooting somebody,” according to the court document.
Eckroth is scheduled to appear in court on July 9.