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Accused Murderer's Father Says Son Was High On 'Bath Salts'

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Accused murderer Moses Trotter was not able to make his court hearing Thursday morning and remains on a psych hold, but his father spoke with CBS13 and said his son was high when he allegedly killed a Fair Oaks woman.

He did not want to go on camera but has his own theory for why his son allegedly murdered 79-year-old Carole Sturgis inside her Fair Oaks home on Sunday.

Moses Trotter
Moses Trotter (credit: Sacramento Co. Sheriff's Dept.)

Trotter's family still doesn't know what caused the 32-year-old to turn violent. Trotter isn't talking to them, denying their visitation requests.

But Trotter's father told CBS13 he believes his son took a drug known as "bath salts" the day he allegedly murdered Sturgis.

He says that before the attack, Trotter had walked to a liquor store from his mother's house in Fair Oaks. When he returned, he banged on the door, telling his mother he was overheating and speaking about demons.

Naquita Trotter
Naquita Trotter

She refused to answer. Trotter's father says that's when the trouble began...

Witnesses saw Trotter Sunday afternoon breaking into homes. Neighbors chased Trotter, before he broke into Sturgis' home.

Deputies arrested Trotter on Sturgis' front lawn. He was naked and covered in blood...

Investigators are waiting for the toxicology report, but according to the Web MD website, bath salts don't show up on the tests.

Right now it's unclear if Trotter was under the influence of any substance at the time of the alleged attack, but some of the side effects from "bath salts" do match Trotter's behavior.

"People get really hot, they think the heat is associated with their clothing, so they strip down that clothing," Sacramento Police Sgt. Andrew Pettit said. "There are symptoms of people being erratic, having hallucinations.

"I know on the East Coast and other areas it's really big. We see these stories of people acting erratic, eating faces of other people those kind of things."

Pettit was referring to the case in Miami in May where a man was shot and killed by police after eating another man's face.

Moses Trotter's mother, Naquita Trotter, was also supposed to be in court Thursday. She's charged with impersonating a nurse. She too didn't make her appearance for health reasons.

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