A former morning news anchor in Missouri has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly stabbing her 80-year-old mother to death on Halloween, Friday, October 31, 2025, in what she reportedly described as an act of self-defense.
Angelynn “Angie” Mock, 47, was arrested after neighbors in a residential area of Wichita, Kansas, encountered her outside a home around 7:50 a.m., covered in blood and asking for help. The shocking scene unfolded in what residents described as a typically quiet neighborhood, leaving those who witnessed it deeply shaken.
Alyssa Castro, who lives nearby, recalled the disturbing encounter when Mock approached her vehicle. “There was a woman who approached our vehicle with blood all over her hands and body, asking us to call 911,” Castro told local media. Mock then took Castro’s phone and rushed back inside the residence.
According to Sedgwick County dispatchers, Mock used the borrowed phone to contact authorities herself, allegedly stating she had “stabbed her mother to save herself.” When officers from the Wichita Police Department arrived at the scene, they found Mock standing outside with visible cuts on her hands.
Inside the home, officers discovered Mock’s mother, Anita Avers, unresponsive in her bed with multiple stab wounds. Emergency responders transported Avers to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8:26 a.m., just over half an hour after the initial police response.
Avers worked as a marriage and family therapist at Wichita Counseling Professionals, her husband confirmed to local outlets. Her death has left the professional community and neighbors grappling with the sudden violence that erupted on Halloween morning.
Mock received medical treatment at a hospital for her injuries before being taken into custody. She was subsequently booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on charges of first-degree murder. She is currently being held on $1 million bond, and her charge status is listed as active in county public records.
The 47-year-old suspect previously worked as a morning news anchor at FOX 2 in St. Louis from 2011 to 2015, where she served as both a morning and evening fill-in anchor. Her journalism career also included positions at KOKH FOX 25 in Oklahoma City, according to her LinkedIn profile.
After leaving television news, Mock transitioned into sales roles, working various positions in the St. Louis area through August 2017. Following a two-year break from the workforce, she took a position with a data management software company that maintains multiple offices throughout the Midwest, including one in Wichita. She was employed in sales at this company at the time of her arrest.
The investigation into the fatal stabbing remains ongoing, with authorities declining to disclose a clear motive for the alleged attack. Police have not released information about what may have precipitated the violence between mother and daughter on Halloween morning.
Castro, who provided the phone that Mock used to call 911, expressed relief that she and her boyfriend were able to assist in the emergency. She told local media that while the experience was traumatic, she was grateful they could help get emergency services to the scene. Authorities later returned the phone to Castro’s boyfriend.
The case has drawn significant attention due to Mock’s former public profile as a television news anchor in a major market. The Sedgwick County Police Department has not released details about Mock’s initial court appearance or provided a timeline for further legal proceedings.
Mock remains in the main jail facility at Sedgwick County as the investigation continues.
Neighbors in the residential area where the stabbing occurred have expressed shock at the violent incident occurring in their typically peaceful community. The Halloween morning tragedy has left residents processing the trauma of witnessing Mock emerge from the home covered in blood.
