Kentucky man pleads guilty but mentally ill to killing grandmother
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A Kentucky man admitted Tuesday to brutally killing his grandmother in an unprovoked attack, pleading guilty but mentally ill in court.
Wyatt Testerman, 19, entered the murder plea, which under state law grants him access to mental health treatment while in prison.
He entered his plea without receiving any agreement from prosecutors, and Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said his office would seek a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Prosecutors said Testerman recorded video of an attack on his 74-year-old grandmother, Cheri Oliver, at her home in October 2024.
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Wyatt Testerman, 19, pleaded guilty but was mentally ill to killing his 74-year-old grandmother in an unprovoked attack in Kentucky. (Kenton County Detention Center)
The video allegedly shows Testerman setting up a phone to record before pushing Oliver to the ground and beating him.
At one point he stopped to check his pulse and said: “How [expletive] Is he still breathing?”
Testerman hit Oliver more than 40 times, including with a metal cup, and crushed him nearly a dozen times, according to court records.
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A Kentucky teenager admitted in court to killing his grandmother in what prosecutors described as a brutal and unprovoked attack. (Kenton County Detention Center; Erlanger Police Department)
Police found Oliver unconscious, covered in blood. He later died from blunt force trauma to his head, according to the report.
Testerman’s mother told investigators she witnessed the attack and tried to stop it.
Another witness told police that Testerman had previously accused Oliver of being “suicidal and a terrorist” and warned him to sit down or “face the consequences.”
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Prosecutors say a teenager recorded an unprovoked deadly attack on his grandmother. (Erlanger Police Department)
In court, Testerman said he struggled with substance abuse.
“I had been abusing acid for a long time,” he said. “On that date, I attacked my grandmother for no reason, hitting her multiple times and killing her.”
Testerman was expected to plead insanity when his trial was set to begin May 12, but a defense expert later determined he suffered from antisocial personality disorder, his attorney said.
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Testerman told the judge he was having hallucinations in the courtroom, but acknowledged he understood the proceedings, according to the report.
The man, who faces 20 years to life imprisonment, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7.
