Woman suspected in her 84-year-old mother’s death told police ‘she deserved it,’ jail report says

TAYLORSVILLE — Police are investigating the death of an 84-year-old woman as a homicide and have arrested her daughter, who allegedly told police “she deserved it” but wouldn’t say why.

Patrol officers arrived at 1215 W. Middlesex Road in Taylorsville shortly after 8 a.m. Friday after Unified police received a phone call from a grandchild of the victim, Carol Donlay. They later arrested Donlay’s daughter, Lori Lee Donlay, 58, who was booked into Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of murder.

Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler said the officers who arrived at the scene considered the death to be suspicious.

“There was some blood on the scene,” Cutler said. “It just didn’t look quite right to them, so they called out homicide investigators who responded to the scene.”

The investigators found “bloody injuries” on Carol Donlay’s chest and deemed the death a homicide, according to a jail affidavit.

They obtained a search warrant and found blood leading up to the bedroom of Donlay’s daughter, as well as blood on the bedroom door, bedsheets and Lori Donlay’s clothes, the affidavit states. Blood-marked pants, which matched blood streaks on the bed Carol Donlay was lying on, were found in Lori Donlay’s laundry basket.

Police also wrote in the affidavit that a bloody knife was found in the bathroom between Carol Donlay and her daughter’s room.

When questioned by investigators, Lori Donlay replied “she deserved it, and now she’s in a better place,” according to the affidavit.

“Lori also said she wouldn’t tell why it happened and she’ll take it to the grave,” the affidavit states. Lori Donlay went on to tell investigators she plans to plead guilty and go to prison.

Lori Donlay said only she and her mother lived at the house, according to the affidavit, and only the two of them were home the night before.

Lori Donlay will be held without bail.

Yukai Peng, Deseret News