ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. — A Roane County woman is facing a charge of first-degree murder after she was accused of killing her mother on April 20. She was indicted by a Roane County grand jury on June 17.
Marie Ann Hefner, 50, was arrested on April 25 after an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Roane County Sheriff's Office into the death of Bertha Lodewegen, 75. The investigation began on April 21, after deputies responded to a call saying that a woman's body was found at a home in Rockwood.
Deputies said when they arrived, they found Lodewegen dead with a neck wound. They initially believed she might have died by accident after falling down some stairs. The TBI joined the sheriff's office in the investigation. Over the next few days, investigators concluded that Lodewegen's death was no accident and they began investigating the case as a homicide.
According to Hefner's arrest warrant, Hefner told deputies she was last alone with her mother at the Rockwood home on April 20. She said she arrived that morning to pick up Lodewegen so they could get breakfast at a restaurant before going grocery shopping.
Investigators found receipts near the mother's wallet from MeMe's and Kroger that were dated April 20 and time-stamped at 9:44 a.m. and 11:41 a.m.
The daughter said she thought she left the home between 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. but said she wasn't looking at the time.
According to the arrest warrant, investigators obtained video from a neighboring home and home security alert logs from the victim's phone.
The video taken from a neighboring home showed a Silver Jeep pull up to the home around 9:26 a.m. and leave around 9:36 a.m. The warrant said the Jeep returned around 12:03 p.m. and a person was seen unloading some bags. Investigators said the same person got into the Jeep and left around 1:34 p.m.
The warrant said the mother's phone had several home security alerts recorded on it on April 20. They said the logs showed no activity between 9:34 a.m. and 12:04 p.m. At 12:04 p.m., the log showed that a side door was opened and it recorded movement in the dining room.
Around 12:18 p.m., the home security logs reported a glass break alert. It then recorded the basement door opening and closing around 1:02 p.m., and then another glass break alert was recorded in the basement around 1:25 p.m.
No other activity was recorded until the next day at around 9 a.m. when witnesses arrived and called 911, according to the warrant.