Friday, April 17, 2026
41.0°F

Son charged in fatal attack of elderly woman

STAFF REPORT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 hour, 39 minutes AGO
by STAFF REPORT
| April 17, 2026 10:19 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — Police have arrested a man accused of attacking his elderly mother in her home last September, causing fatal injuries, apprehending the suspect as he prepared to fly to China, according to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

Neil F. Stratton, 52, of Coeur d’Alene, is charged with first degree murder, burglary and destruction of evidence, all felonies, in connection with the death of his mother, 77-year-old Susan M. Stratton. 

The charges stem from Sept. 18 of last year, when Coeur d’Alene police responded to the 1100 block of E. Skyline Drive for a report of an unconscious elderly woman with “severe injuries.” 

The woman, Susan Stratton, later died from her injuries and her death was ruled a homicide. 

Her son, Neil Stratton, emerged as a suspect early in the investigation, according to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. 

While working to locate Neil Stratton, detectives learned he had left the area and was planning to travel from California to China, according to police. 

U.S. Marshals arrested Neil Stratton around 8 a.m. Friday, near Los Angeles. He is awaiting extradition to Coeur d’Alene. 


ARTICLES BY STAFF REPORT

Son charged in fatal attack of elderly woman
April 17, 2026 10:19 a.m.

Son charged in fatal attack of elderly woman

Police have arrested a man accused of attacking his elderly mother in her home last September, causing fatal injuries, apprehending the suspect as he prepared to fly to China, according to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

Wolfpack silences Knights
April 15, 2026 6 a.m.

Wolfpack silences Knights

Kaeden Kahler and Brady Lewellen combined for a one-hit shutout, Kahler helped his own cause with a two-run double and Glacier moved to 5-0 with a 9-0 win over Missoula Hellgate in high school baseball Tuesday.

April 14, 2026 5:56 p.m.

Authorities await identity confirmation for body found along Crab Creek

BEVERLY — Investigators made a possible match Monday evening in confirming the identity of the man who was found along Crab Creek, according to a statement from Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman. “Coroner’s investigators believe they have found the family of the man who was recovered from Crab Creek on Sunday,” Kyle Foreman wrote in the statement. The coroner’s staff has not yet released the man’s name because they are awaiting a familial DNA test to verify the identity, according to the statement. There is no current timeline for those results to return.