Crime & Safety
Novato Woman's Alleged Killer Thought she was the Devil, Police say
Catherine "Kitty" Houghton was stabbed to death in a New Hampshire hotel earlier this year. Her alleged killer is in custody.
A Novato woman was stabbed to death in the lobby of a New Hampshire hotel earlier this year because her alleged assailant believed she was the devil, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, citing police documents.
Houghton, 70, was staying at a Hampton Inn in Littleton, N.H.
Prosecutors have charged 37-year-old Rodney Hill with second-degree murder for her death.
Hill, who was also staying at the hotel, told police he was distraught when he couldn't reply to an email earlier in the day, according to the Chronicle report.
He blamed his father, whom he believed to be the devil for disrupting his internet access. Hill then ran to the hotel lobby armed with a Leatherman-style knife and attacked Houghton, believing she was his father appearing in an "unrecognizable form," the Chronicle reports.
Houghton spoke 14 languages and worked for the U.S. Foreign Service, the Chronicle reports.
Hill is being held without bail.
