On the morning of October 31, in Wichita, Kansas, police responded to a call reporting a “cutting” incident at a residence in the 1500 block of East Crowley Street at around 7:52 a.m. When officers arrived, they found Mock, aged 47, standing outside the home with visible cuts on her hands. Inside, they discovered her 80-year-old mother, Anita Avers, unresponsive in bed with multiple stab wounds. Avers was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead at 8:26 a.m. local time. Mock was subsequently arrested and booked on a charge of first-degree murder, and she is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail on a bond of $1 million.

Mock is a former television news anchor, having worked at KTVI Fox 2 in St. Louis between 2011 and 2015, and has since transitioned into roles in sales and data-management. Neighbors described the scene as startling: one, Alyssa Castro, recalled that Mock approached her vehicle, “her hands and body soaked in blood,” and asked her to call 911. Mock then went back into the home and reportedly told dispatchers she had “stabbed [her] mother to save herself.”

Despite what appeared publicly to be a warm mother-daughter relationship, the motive behind this tragic event remains unknown as of now. Avers worked as a marriage and family therapist at Wichita Counseling Professionals, which added to the shock in the neighborhood given her community role. Mock’s claim of self-defense is being scrutinized as part of the ongoing investigation