Suspect Spurned by Mother Before Sturgis Slaying, Investigators Say

In a packed room of more than 120 people Wednesday night, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department homicide investigator Sgt. Jim Barnes took questions from the Fair Oaks community and explained what his department believes are the series of events leading up to and following the suspected murder of Carole Sturgis.

Barnes fielded questions from concerned Fair Oaks residents for about 40 minutes at the community forum at . In that time Barnes explained it was his department's belief that Moses Stanley Trotter, , had in fact visited his mother, at a home near where the 79-year-old Sturgis would be found dead hours later.

Barnes explained Naquita refused to let Trotter into the home. Spurned by Naquita for unknown reasons, investigators believe Trotter left the home his mother was watching and made his way to Olympic Way, Sturgis' street.

Before Trotter made his way to Sturgis' home, Barnes noted both Sturgis' son-in-law and in-home care provider had left the house. It was in the 20 to 30 minutes that both were gone that investigators believe Trotter made his way into the home through an open window at the front of the Sturgis home. Barnes believes it was during this time Trotter murdered Sturgis.

"We believe the homicide had already occurred prior to the people seeing him walk the neighborhood," Barnes said.

From there police believe Trotter left the home in the 7600 block of Olympic Way, and it was during that time initial eye-witness reports of an unknown man forcibly attempting to enter neighbors' homes started coming into the Sheriff's department, Barnes said. At the first home, eye witnesses saw Trotter barrel through a neighbor's backyard wooden gate. with the rampaging man culminated in Trotter telling him he was, "just washing up." Foricbly escorting Trotter from his home, the man watched as Trotter made his way to his next door neighbor Phil Blottie's home.

After bashing through Blottie's front window, turning on his T.V. and video game system and swimming in his pool, Trotter left the home and made his way back to Sturgis', Barnes said, where Sheriff's units would attempt to force Trotter out. From there a series of bizarre and grisly discoveries were made including a naked and bloody Trotter leaving the house and Sturgis' body inside her home.

It's still unclear why Trotter emerged from the Sturgis home in the state he was discovered, Barnes said.

Earlier in the day, hours before even showing up at the house where his mother was staying, Barnes noted Trotter was seen at a nearby liquor store selling his rap albums. Audience members questioned the validity of reports indicating Trotter acting erratically in front of witnesses.

"It could have been state of mind, it could have been substance abuse; we don't know," Barnes said. "The problem is he didn't provide a statement."

Toxicology reports have not come back, and despite reports suggesting Trotter may have been on what is commonly referred to as "bath salts," Barnes isn't sure there is reason yet to believe that is the case.

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