OXFORD COUNTY, Maine — A caretaker accused of killing two people in the home they shared in Denmark over the weekend, appeared in court for the first time this afternoon.
53-year-old Tzara Jones is charged with two counts of intentional murder for stabbing her boyfriend and grandmother in her home at 7 Fuller Lane.
According to court documents, investigators believe Jones stabbed her boyfriend, Michael Willett, 69, and grandmother, Aremean Mayo, 93, in the chest multiple times with a butcher knife.
Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Liam Funte conducted autopsies noting Mayo suffered at least 10 stab wounds and Willett suffered three, according to court documents. Both victims had been dead for more than 24 hours.
Oxford County Sheriff's Deputies were called to conduct welfare checks for Mayo on Friday and Willett on Saturday, but Jones was uncooperative. The deputies returned to the home Saturday evening with a search warrant and found both victims deceased, the affidavit said.
Jones's sister, Danielle Graham, told police Jones had expressed that she was "tired of taking care of them both." According to court documents, Mayo had moved in with Jones and Willett in July of this year. Graham said she believes an inheritance or will may have been a motive in the death of their grandmother.
Jones appeared in Oxford County Court Tuesday afternoon via Zoom. She is currently being held at the Oxford County Jail awaiting a bail hearing.