The grandson of an 87-year-old trailblazing Black female doctor who once taught at Howard University has allegedly confessed to killing her on Sunday at her mansion.
The devastating event unfolded on Sunday morning when 27-year-old Spencer Dillon Hamilton turned himself in at the Rockville City Police Station in Maryland, about 16 miles outside Washington, DC.
According to reports, Hamilton had allegedly confessed to killing his grandmother, Pauline Yvonne Titus-Dillon, prior to the arrival of Montgomery County police officers at the mansion.
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Medics quickly arrived in an attempt to save Titus-Dillon, yet found her body immobile and pronounced the trailblazing doctor dead at the scene.
According to a Daily Mail report, Hamilton had allegedly waited in a closet around 4 am before initiating the act of punching, strangling and stabbing his grandmother.
Detectives believed that the 21-year-old had the murder weapon with him when he allegedly confessed, according to court papers.
Hamilton was then accused of moving his grandmother’s body to her bathroom and cleaning his tracks.
Titus-Dillon’s grandson allegedly stole her credit card, cellphone and laptop before he left the mansion with his grandmother’s body.
Court records indicate that Hamilton was living with his grandmother at the mansion before her passing.
He is now charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond. Cops revealed that Hamilton ‘feloniously, willfully and with deliberately premeditated malice aforethought’ murdered his grandmother, as per court documents.
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The 27-year-old was given a public defender, yet he told Judge Patrick Mays that he desires to represent himself during a bail hearing on Monday.
A public defender questioned whether Hamilton was sure about waiving his right to an attorney, prompting the judge to order a psychiatric evaluation.
He has yet to enter a formal plea and has two upcoming court dates, a hearing on April 7 and a preliminary hearing on April 25.
Prior to her death, Dr. Titus-Dillon had a distinguished career, breaking barriers for women and people of color in medicine.
She was a 1964 graduate of Howard University Medical School, who later served as an associate dean.
At a time when women comprised just 6% of medical students, she pursued a career that would go on to open doors for many Black women.
Psychologist Nicole Cutts, who was a friend of the family described Titus-Dillon as “brilliant” with a “unique sense of humor.” She was deeply devoted to her family of Jamaican heritage, and sewing.
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The Titus-Dillon family has not publicly addressed the tragedy, but attorneys confirmed that Hamilton’s mother attended his hearing, according to a Washington Post report.
