A Washington Mother Told Her Former Air Force Reservist Son To Wash His Hands. Then He Shot Her Dead.

A former member of the Washington Air Force Reserves will spend more than 10 years in prison for shooting and killing his mother after she complained about him not washing his hands.

Corey Manley, 24, received a shortened sentence for second-degree murder after prosecutors admitted his mother abused him for years.

Manley told authorities he shot Elizabeth Manley, 43, several times at their apartment in March 2021.

The mother was intoxicated at the time, Manley explained, and insulted him for not washing his hands. Then she reportedly threw a popcorn tin and a box of cookies at him.

Manley was sitting at his bedroom desk at the time. He said he warned his mother not to come closer. But when she did, he fired a 9 mm handgun seven times.

A psychological examination performed on Manley in June 2022 concluded he had “underlying childhood trauma,”the Tacoma News-Tribune reported.

Manley's parents were substance abusers who could be violent, the exam showed. In one case, Elizabeth Manley slammed a heavy door on her husband's head and split it open.

Prosecutors originally charged Corey Manley with first-degree murder. But they reduced the charge in January.

“Although he does not have a diagnosed mental illness, it’s clear that his actions were driven by the abuse he suffered,” Pierce County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Wagner said at the time.

Manley notified police immediately after shooting his mother. He had no other criminal history. Manley was sentenced in late February.