Harvard Law School Graduate Accused Of Murdering His Mother Wants To Represent Himself

Police found his mother's skeletal remains, including her crushed skull, in a fire pit in the backyard.

Kyle D. Tucker (Photo via Hamden Police Department)

The man at the center of an incredibly grisly murder case may have somewhat of an advantage if he’s allowed to represent himself in court: he has a degree from Harvard Law School.

Meet Kyle D. Tucker, a 2009 graduate of Harvard Law. Tucker’s Twitter bio states that he’s “the Jewish messiah, also known as Jacob.” It is unknown if Tucker ever passed a bar exam or practiced law.

Tucker shared a house with his mother, Donna Tucker, in Hamden, Connecticut. When his aunt, Denise Tucker, filed a missing persons report after not hearing from her sister for some time, she told police she was concerned about her nephew Kyle’s mental health. When police got in touch with Morgan Tucker, Kyle’s brother, he shared some disturbing thoughts about his mother’s disappearance after seeing a series of strange tweets his brother had posted on Twitter: “My brother killed my mother.” The Hartford Courant has the details:

Detectives visited the home Friday, spoke with a cooperative Kyle Tucker, and made a grisly discovery in the fire pit in the back yard: skeletal remains, including a crushed human skull. Next to the pit was a gasoline container, the court records state. …

A short time after detectives brought Tucker back to headquarters and sat him down in an interview room, . . . [h]e confessed to beating his mother, dragging her body outside and setting it on fire. He admitted to returning to the kitchen, where the attack occurred, and scrubbing it with several chemicals. When he couldn’t get his mother’s blood [off] the wall, he repainted the wall, detectives reported.

In his confession, Tucker, 34, said “God got into my body” and led him downstairs to the kitchen, baseball bat in hand. He said he struck his mother on the top of her head and hit her in the face after she’d collapsed on the floor, the police records state.

Featured in Tucker’s string of erratic tweets was this family photo, taken on the day he graduated from Harvard Law School almost a decade ago:

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Tucker is currently being held in lieu of $5 million bail, and exactly one month ago, New Haven Public Defender Beth A. Merkin filed a motion on his behalf because he wanted to “exercise his constitutional right to represent himself.” Last week, Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford ordered that Tucker undergo an examination to determine whether he was competent to stand trial.

Hamden Man Said He Beat Mother, Burned Her Body For 8 Hours [Hartford Courant]
Hamden man defending self against charge of murdering mother has Harvard law degree [New Have Register]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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