97 Year Old Killed by Her Adult Grandson on American River Drive

Yesterday afternoon, Sacramento County Sheriff's North Patrol Deputies responded to a residence on the 4200 block of American Drive after neighbors called for a welfare check on their 97-year-old neighbor, who lived alone and had not been seen or heard from for a couple of days. Upon their arrival, the elderly female's 40-year-old grandson, Brian Wiggins, and his girlfriend, 31-year-old Dozsha Beckwith, answered the door. Wiggins told Deputies his grandmother had just got in Uber to visit his father, who was in an assisted living facility.

Deputies observed a section of a carpet that had been removed, along with several safes in the living room that appeared to have been broken into, and the home appeared to have been ransacked. Concerned for the physical welfare of the elderly resident, both Wiggins and Beckwith were detained, and Deputies searched the inside of the residence to no avail. Deputies then searched a vehicle parked inside the garage, which was registered to Wiggins. It was there they made the gruesome discovery of the victim's deceased body in the trunk of the vehicle.

Sheriff's Homicide Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators responded to the scene, collected evidence, and interviewed witnesses. Detectives learned that Wiggins and Beckwith forced their way inside of her home, looking for a place to stay. When the victim told them to leave, Wiggins beat his grandmother to death. He and Beckwith then placed her body in the trunk of his vehicle. Both Wiggins and Beckwith were formally arrested: Wiggins for murder and Beckwith for burglary and accessory after the fact. Both were booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and are scheduled to appear in court on January 28.

The victim's identity will be made available by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office in accordance with their protocols.

Sergeant Amar Gandhi
Sheriff's Spokesman