Background: News footage of the home where Patricia Blake was found dead on Dec. 26 (WPTV). Inset: Martha Jo Blake (Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office).
A Florida woman allegedly told police that she helped her elderly mother end her life upon her request.
Martha Jo Blake, 66, was charged with first-degree murder after her 97-year-old mother, Patricia Blake, was found dead in her home on Dec. 26. According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Patricia Blake's death was determined to be a homicide after an autopsy revealed evidence of "something being placed on [her] face" along with other signs of possible strangulation.
Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office responded to Patricia Blake's home on the morning of Dec. 26. Martha Blake was there, and she told police that she last saw her mother alive the night before. Her story changed after the autopsy took place.
When deputies first encountered Martha Blake, she said that her mother had suffered from Parkinson's disease and a thyroid disorder before her death. The older woman's primary care physician was located in Maine, so she was referred to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. The medical examiner noticed several details about Patricia Blake's body that were "not consistent with a natural death."
Among the medical examiner's findings was a lack of post-mortem blood pooling in Patricia Blake's nose, which was "consistent with something being placed on the face" before death. The doctor also found several locations of internal bleeding and petechiae in the older woman's eyes, cheeks, and inside the mouth. Patricia Blake's neck also had a "fresh fracture" and hemorrhaging on both sides.
Police reviewed the body camera footage from the scene and noted that Martha Blake insisted on staying with her mother's body the whole time. After obtaining a search warrant for the home where the mother and daughter both lived, police spoke to Martha Blake again in a police vehicle. She was not placed under arrest and agreed to answer questions.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Martha Blake told police that she had been her mother's caregiver for the past five years. A year and a half prior to Patricia Blake's death, both mother and daughter purportedly discussed "death with dignity" with the older woman's primary care physician in Maine. Martha Blake said the doctor told them that Patricia Blake was not eligible because she was not suffering from a terminal illness.
Police said that Martha Blake seemingly decided to take matters into her own hands. She told police that she and her mother discussed "suicide by taking pills," but they did not have anything on hand that was "lethal" enough. Martha Blake explained to police that her mother told her "she did not want to live, and has told her this many times." After Martha Blake was read her rights, she maintained the same story.
Martha Blake was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. She is being held at the Main Detention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, without bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2026.