Florida nurse violently killed by son accused of overdosing on Tylenol and crashing her car: Sheriff
Son charged in mother’s death
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd gives an update after a nurse was found ‘violently’ murdered last month inside her Eagle Lake home.
EAGLE LAKE, Fla. - A man is in custody after deputies say he brutally murdered his mother inside her Eagle Lake home before fleeing in her car and getting into multiple crashes.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies discovered the violent scene while investigating a series of hit-and-run crashes involving the victim’s vehicle.
Deadly Domestic Violence
What we know:
On July 21, 2026, deputies said they found 54-year-old Margaret Dufour dead in a pool of blood inside her home office on July 21. The medical examiner determined Dufour died from blunt force trauma and strangulation.
"As our deputies entered the front door to the house, they look immediately to the left, which is a bedroom that is set up as an office and there’s Margaret stomped into a bloody puddle into the middle of the floor, obviously deceased," Judd stated.
Investigators found her son, Gibson Nash, unconscious inside her crashed 2022 BMW on Highway 27 North. First responders noticed blood on his hands that did not match the crash scene. According to Judd, DNA testing later confirmed the blood on Nash’s shoes and clothes belonged to his mother. Judd said Nash was treated for a Tylenol overdose and liver failure and is expected to be moved to the jail on Wednesday to face a first-degree murder charge.
Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
Mother's Search For Help
The backstory:
According to Judd, Dufour, a registered nurse, recently moved from Tennessee to Florida to get better mental health resources for her son, who has bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and possible autism. The sheriff said she also wanted to get him away from an environment where he was well-known to law enforcement.
Judd noted that Nash had a history of violent behavior toward his mother. On April 5, the sheriff said he threatened her with a knife, leading to his arrest on April 6 after Dufour locked herself in a smoke shop to call 911.
On April 29, Judd said Nash pulled a knife on her again during an argument over an Xbox. Despite the attacks, the sheriff said Dufour bonded him out of jail and brought him to live with her in her new Eagle Lake home in Florida.
Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
Crash Uncovers Crime
Timeline:
According to PCSO, neighbors reported hearing a disturbance and thuds at the home around 4 a.m. or 4:40 a.m. on July 21. Investigators said Nash beat and strangled his mother, stole her BMW and fled.
Around 7 a.m. on July 21, deputies began investigating a hit-and-run crash involving the BMW. After running the vehicle's tags to her Eagle Lake address, deputies went to the home, checked local hospitals, and eventually used a key hidden under a floor mat to enter the residence around noon, where they discovered her body.
Never Gave up on Her Son
What they're saying:
"It’s one of the most personally violent murders we’ve seen in a long time," Judd explained."
"I want you to see a nurse, a mother and a helper who never gave up on her son and it cost her her life," Judd added.
"I can’t think of many things more horrible than a man killing his mother," Judd said. "Someone who brought him into this world, who raised him up, took care of him, did not abandoned him even after the beating he gave her over and over and over, moved all the way to Florida, started a new job, went back and got him out of jail and this was her last-ditch hope to get him help and get him away from the environment he was in and it got her murdered."
Tragic Final Outcome
What we don't know:
Authorities have not released details regarding the specific admissions Nash made to investigators. It remains unclear if Nash was taking prescribed medication at the time of the attack.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who detailed the investigation during a news conference, as well as official sheriff's office reports.