Mother Suspected that Daughter Had Killed Dad. 7 Years Later, the Mom Was Bludgeoned to Death — and Daughter Is Behind Bars

Content warning: The following article contains disturbing details.

A Wisconsin woman is facing charges after allegedly beating her mother to death in a shocking attack earlier this month.

According to a search warrant obtained by WTMJ and cited by CBS 58 and Local 12, 64-year-old Carrie Zettel was found dead in the backyard of her Milwaukee home with severe head injuries so extreme that “brain matter [was] visible.”

Authorities have arrested Lauren Spors, Zettel’s 29-year-old daughter, in connection with the Oct. 12 incident. Court records show she has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

Neighbor and close friend Loretta Moyer told CBS 58 there had been a long history of alleged violence involving Spors within the family.

Court filings indicate a domestic-abuse restraining order had previously been granted against Spors in February 2018. In the petition for that order, Zettel alleged that her daughter had once attacked her father, Jeffrey Spors, striking him “repeatedly on the head with heavy decorative bottles” and threatening his life with a knife.

Zettel reportedly believed her daughter was involved in Jeffrey’s 2018 death. During related court hearings that year, Spors wrote, “I haven’t accepted my dad’s death. My mom says I killed him, but I don’t remember doing it.”

Officials later ruled Jeffrey’s death accidental, citing his history of overmedication, according to the medical examiner’s report referenced by CBS 58.

Records also show that in June 2020, Spors was charged with misdemeanor battery and theft. That case was dismissed after she was found incompetent to stand trial.

Zettel is being remembered by friends and family as a caring neighbor and advocate for people living with mental illness. At a recent vigil covered by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, her son described her as having a bright, generous personality.

“She was always there for the children,” said family friend Jordan Wake, who recalled that Zettel was affectionately known as “Grandma Carrie” and was famous for her cheesecake-like dessert.

Court records show that Spors’ current charge of first-degree intentional homicide includes a domestic-violence modifier. A plea has not yet been entered.