Relatives of a woman accused of killing and cooking her mother’s dismembered body parts are shocked after seeing her looking calm in court.
Torilena May Fields, 32, was charged with murder after police found her 68-year-old mother, Trudy, in her backyard on Oct. 9 with her body parts being cooked in a pot.
She made her first court appearance on Tuesday – looking drastically different from her mugshot – and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Fox 56 reported.
Fields’ family was stunned by the change in her appearance, noting that she did not appear to express remorse and did not appear to be mentally ill.
‘It seems like nothing is wrong. She was alert, she was paying attention to the judge. I didn’t see anything about her being psychotic or mental. She talked to the judge like a human being. I thought she was going to go crazy,” said her uncle Todd Brock.
Torilena May Fields, 32, pleaded not guilty to charges accusing her of murdering her mother and then dismembering and cooking her body parts
Fields was charged with murder after police found her mother cooking in a pot in her backyard on October 9
‘I feel sorry for the girl, but my sister is my sister. Children don’t do that to their mothers.’
Her cousin Olivia Brock said: ‘I feel like looking at her – I don’t know, maybe it’s just my thoughts or something. I feel like she’s aware of what she’s done or whatever. Don’t know. Yes, I have no words for that.’
She is due back in court on March 10 and her lawyer Laura Fitzer said their next steps include gathering more evidence and investigating.
“Boots on the ground is what we are doing right now and gathering some evidence from the Commonwealth and what they want to use to prove a murder of Torilena,” Fitzer said.
“We’re really ready to gather all the information we can to best represent her and really tell her story, that’s the most important thing.”
Family and friends said Fields grew up as a stereotypical “country girl” with loving parents.
They said her problems only started after she moved to California to pursue a career as an actor and singer under the name Naomi Navarre.
Fields allegedly shot Trudy, 68, (pictured) in the head and stabbed her, and “decapitated, dismembered and disemboweled her corpse” at her home in Mount Olivet, Kentucky
Fields allegedly shot Trudy in the head and stabbed her, and “decapitated, dismembered and disemboweled her corpse” at her home in Mount Olivet, Kentucky.
She then “placed her head, hands, feet and forearms in a pot in the oven and heated them until they were charred,” court documents allege.
Kentucky State Police responded to Fields’ family home on Oct. 9 after a man working on the property followed drag marks in the grass and found Trudy’s dismembered body in the backyard.
Trudy’s arms, legs and head were separated from her body. The worker also discovered a pile of hair believed to be hers.
He told state troopers that he was at the property the day before and saw both Trudy and Fields.
‘On [October 8], [the witness] They said Fields was casting spells on them and was confrontational,” the troopers noted in the citation.
Police obtained a search warrant and entered the home after they were unable to contact Fields.
Fields’ family was stunned by the change in her appearance, noting that she did not appear to express any remorse
Field’s cousin Olivia Brock said: ‘I feel like she’s aware of what she’s done.’
When she finally emerged from her hiding place, she was covered in blood, they said.
A thorough search of the building revealed a bloody mattress containing ‘several body parts and organs’.
The researchers also discovered a pot in the oven that contained cooked human body parts. The pot still felt warm.
She is charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, obstruction and torture of animals after allegedly torturing and killing a dog.
Her bond is set at $1.5 million and she is in custody at the Bourbon County Detention Center.