Man accused of strangling elderly mother due in court

A competency hearing is scheduled for today for a Richmond man accused of strangling his elderly mother at their home in the Fulton Hill neighborhood.

David Ray Worsham, 55, who faces a charge of first-degree murder in the Oct. 3 death of Virginia Worsham, told police he strangled the 83-year-old woman from behind after she saw him using cocaine and expressed her disapproval, according to a law-enforcement official.

Worsham turned himself in to Richmond sheriff's deputies the day after his mother's death and admitted he had killed her, police said. Her body was found in the house she shared with her son in the 5300 block of Campbell Avenue. It had been her home for 50 years.

Authorities said Virginia Worsham died of asphyxiation by ligature strangulation.

David Worsham is being held without bond at the Richmond City Jail.