A Plano man is facing 50 years in prison for the “savage” murder of his own mother.
Robert Lee Timmons Jr., 34, was sentenced to 50 years for killing his mother, Rene Timmons, by “beating and strangulation,” the Collin County District Attorney’s Office announced August 19. According to court records, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced on August 14.
“This was a horrific act of violence against the very person who gave him life,” said Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis in a press release. “This case is also a grim reminder of how meth can fuel violence and destroy families.”
After Rene Timmons failed to show up to work, the Plano Police Department responded to a welfare check from one of her coworkers on May 16, 2024.
“Officers found her in her home, wrapped in a blanket, with obvious signs of having been viciously beaten and no signs of life,” the release reads.
Simultaneously, not far away, police in Richardson were looking into a report about a man illegally entering an apartment. The individual—Robert Lee Timmons Jr.—was identified by Richardson officers, who promptly informed the Plano Police, after the suspect told officers, “I just killed my mother.” Timmons was arrested immediately at the scene.
Plano Detective Bryan Patten interviewed Timmons “within hours” of the murder. After getting angry, he admitted, he attacked his mother with a metal pipe and a piece of wood.
Then he strangled her.
“I know I am an evil person, and it looks like I don’t regret what I did, but I’m too high to cry,” he told Patten.
Timmons admitted he “regularly” smoked methamphetamine, according to the release. He was living with his mother at the time, who told others she wanted him to move out due to “violence, drug use, erratic behavior, and refusal to find work.”
The day before killing his mother, Timmons falsely accused her of assaulting him – then injured himself to claim self-defense.
Timmons was being held in the Collin County Jail. He waived a jury trial and arraignment and pleaded guilty on August 14.
Police previously arrested Timmons for “Assault Family Violence Impeding Breath” against his sister in Dallas County, and “Assault Bodily Injury” against a male roommate in Collin County, according to the release.
“I’m grateful to our prosecutors and to the Plano and Richardson police for holding this dangerous man accountable and protecting our community from him ever again,” Willis said.