A Royal Oak woman has been charged with first-degree murder after her mother was found unresponsive in her apartment and later died from her injuries, according to a press release from the Royal Oak Police Department.
Officers responded around 7:40 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, to a call at an apartment in the 3600 block of Crooks Road. The caller, a 66-year-old woman from Fenton, told dispatchers her 45-year-old daughter was experiencing a mental health crisis and needed to be taken to the hospital.
When officers arrived, they noticed signs of a struggle while speaking with the daughter, later identified as Jennifer Suzanne Cataldo. Upon entering the apartment, officers found the mother, Leslie Ann Cataldo, unresponsive on the floor with a life-threatening neck wound.
Leslie Cataldo was transported to Corewell Hospital in Royal Oak for emergency surgery but was pronounced dead the following afternoon, on June 5, 2025.
Jennifer Cataldo was taken into custody at the scene without incident. She was arraigned on Friday, June 6, 2025, in the 44th District Court before Magistrate Bankey. She is charged with one count of Homicide – First Degree Murder, which carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.
According to officials, Cataldo has a prior 2018 drunk driving conviction. Bond was denied, and her next court date is tentatively set for June 13, 2025, in the 44th District Court.
Anyone seeking further information is asked to contact Royal Oak Police Department at 248-246-3526.
