Overview
- Martha Jo Blake, 66, was booked Dec. 27 on a first-degree murder charge in the death of her 97-year-old mother, Patricia Blake, in Palm Beach County.
- The medical examiner reported purplish discoloration around the nose, eye hemorrhaging, and a fresh neck fracture, findings consistent with suffocation and strangulation.
- Deputies obtained a search warrant, collecting bedding, a pair of white calf-length socks found in a bag, and clothing the affidavit says Blake stated she wore during the incident, and noted a red mark on her neck in bodycam footage.
- Blake told investigators she and her mother previously discussed “death with dignity” with a Maine physician who declined assistance because she was not terminal; physician-assisted suicide is not legal in Florida.
- The publicly released affidavit is partly redacted, leaving uncertainty about any formal confession, and court records show pretrial detention with hearings set in early 2026.