Fight over rent money leads to foster mom's death, 20-year-old accused of murder

An argument over a late rent payment led to the death of an 82-year-old Virginia foster mother and a 20-year-old man is charged with her murder, police say.

According to police, Mary McNulty, 82, and Traivon McNulty, 20, are mother and son, as she adopted Traivon at 2 weeks old. The shooting took place in their Chesapeake home on July 17.

Family members told News 3 the two got into a disagreement about Traivon’s $200 a month rent being late.

Joe Lymore, Mary’s son-in-law, told News 3, "He was like, I’m go fix y'all this morning. I’m go show all y'all. It didn’t really register until he got back. When Traivon got out the vehicle, he proceeded to the house and my father-in-law started cutting the grass and that’s when heard the shots.”

At that point, family said Traivon sped away in the family’s silver Chrysler Town & Country mini van.

Traivon was on the loose and Chesapeake police were looking for him since Saturday, but authorities said he was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Delaware, where he surrendered without incident.

Traivon was charged with homicide, as well as felony firearm, domestic violence and grand larceny, officials said.

Alfonso Ezzell, Mary’s nephew, told News 3, "She fixed him three meals a day and washed his clothes and did all of that for $200 a month and that’s nothing. You can’t live nowhere cheaper than that. He’ll find out. The only place he’ll live cheaper than that is where he’s going when they catch him.”