Tustin Woman Held in Bludgeoning Death of Mother, 83

A Tustin woman who was arrested after her 83-year-old mother was fatally bludgeoned with a hammer was being treated for depression and agoraphobia, the fear of public places, at the time of the attack, authorities said Thursday.

Betty Lou Hahn, 54, was arrested at her home Wednesday evening after police said her husband called to report that his wife had killed her mother, Helen Gretz of La Mirada, who had been visiting the couple for the holidays. The husband, attorney Kenneth Hahn, was not home at the time of the attack, police said.

Mrs. Hahn was being held in the Orange County jail Thursday awaiting arraignment on a charge of murder.

Argued in the Past

Tustin Police Lt. Frank Semelsberger, who is supervising the investigation into the killing, said that Hahn and her mother, who arrived at the house on Dec. 15, apparently had argued in the past.

“They did not get along real well,” he said. “But it was only verbal arguments, nothing physical.”

He said that police had no information about events leading to the killing, which was caused by several blows to the head with a hammer.

Semelsberger said that police talked with Kenneth Hahn and learned that his wife had been diagnosed as suffering from agoraphobia, low self-esteem and depression. He said she had been prescribed drugs for the condition, including Xanax, commonly used to treat anxiety attacks.

Semelsberger said he did not know if Hahn was on medication at the time of the killing.