Mt. Pleasant Township man accused of stabbing elderly mother

A man accused of stabbing his elderly mother multiple times while she slept in their Mt. Pleasant Township home early Tuesday told authorities he thought she was a Nazi war criminal, according to court documents.

Kort Noel Eckman, 45, was placed in the Westmoreland County Jail awaiting arraignment Tuesday on felony counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault, misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, and a summary count of harassment.

His 78-year-old mother, Rose, received lifesaving aid from state troopers before Mutual Aid Ambulance took her to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, state police said. She was listed in stable condition, according to police.

State police said they discovered the stabbing when they responded at about 1:15 a.m. to a report of a domestic disturbance at a home in the 600 block of Armbrust-Hecla Road.

Rose Eckman had made it to the front seat of her vehicle, parked in the driveway, and had stab wounds to her chest and forearm, according to a criminal complaint filed by state Trooper Robert Politowski. She suffered multiple stab wounds and multiple broken ribs.

Interviewed later at the hospital, she told police she awoke in her bed to find her son “on top of her, stabbing her in the chest,” Politowski said.

Eckman was taken into custody at the residence and was interviewed at the state police station in Greensburg. According to Politowski, he told investigators he took a knife from the kitchen, entered his mother’s bedroom and stabbed her in the chest between 10 and 20 times because he “thought (she) was a Nazi war criminal.”

Eckman told police he felt compelled to stab his mother and was trying to kill her “because he thought it was a test,” according to Politowski. He previously stabbed her in the back Jan. 20, 2021, according to court documents.

Several neighbors said they had never witnessed any disturbances before at the Eckman home.

While Rose Eckman many times was seen tending a garden and flowers in her yard, her son was spotted less often outside the house.

Wayne Brinker, who lives across the road, awoke at about 3 a.m. to discover authorities converged on the Eckman property.

He was shocked when he heard what investigators say happened in the home that morning.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s a shame. She’s a very nice lady.”

Brinker, who helped mow grass for the family on a few occasions, said Rose Eckman usually would drive when she and her son would go on an errand.

Another neighbor, Bethany Shearer, was alarmed when her husband spotted law enforcement officials at the Eckman home.

Shearer said Rose Eckman gave her family strawberries from her garden. “She would send us a Christmas card every holiday,” Shearer said. “She’s always been a kind lady.”

Court records didn’t list an attorney for Kort Eckman.