Granddaughter to be charged in beating death of woman

<p>A 77-year-old Twiggs County woman was beaten to death in her home Tuesday, and her granddaughter has confessed to the crime.</p><p>Leila Tharpe became Twiggs Countys first homicide of the year but its fifth in eight months.</p><p>Tharpe was found near the side door of her mobile home by a friend shortly before noon Tuesday.</p><p>When we got there, they said Leila had been shot, Twiggs County Sheriff Doyle Stone said. Looking at her I could tell she had been beaten with some blunt object.</p><p>Late Tuesday, Yvette Thompson, 36, who lives in a trailer next door to her grandmother, confessed to killing her with a large stick, Stone said. Thompson had been the prime suspect all day, he said.</p><p>I knocked on Yvettes door and when she came I noticed she was wearing a white shirt. I saw specks of blood all on her shirt, Stone said.</p><p>Investigators also found a bloodied rag in Thompsons home and what appeared to be blood on her front door knob, Stone said.</p><p>Although Stone had not determined a motive for the killing by late Tuesday, he said Thompson has a history of mental problems and had been taking medication.</p><p>The majority of my deputies had to go out there at some point, and shed get violent with them, Stone said.</p><p>She was a sweet person. Nobody would want to hurt her, I didnt think, said Mabel Glover, Tharpes niece.</p>