Authorities say money was the motivation in the alleged mother-daughter killing of a man in Florida. Authorities allege Guenevere Lynn Hudnall, 19, killed her father, William Arnold Hudnall, 51, with a pickax while he was sleeping in his home in Hawthorne, The Gainesville Sun reported.
Investigators said Hudnall’s estranged wife, Stephanie Lynn Hudnall, 41, was an accomplice. Hudnall’s body was found inside his home Thursday. Sheriff’s officers said the two women, who lived together, were unemployed and their trailer house was being foreclosed on.
Alachua County Sheriff’s Detective Sandra Myers said interviews with the two women helped investigators determine they had previously discussed getting government benefits if Hudnall died. Myers said the women arrived at Hudnall’s home Wednesday evening. Stephanie Hudnall left the home about 8:15 p.m., while Guenevere stayed behind.
After Hudnall fell asleep, his daughter allegedly retrieved a pickax from a porch, striking him in the head and chest several times. “The victim continued to make noise so she [Guenevere] struck him with the ax until he was quiet to make sure he was dead,†Myers wrote in an arrest report. Investigators said Hudnall’s daughter tried to make the killing appear to be part of a break-in by scattering mail on the living room floor.
The women were being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
