The trial of a Cedar Rapids man accused of killing his mother with a crowbar has been reset to Jan. 27, 2014 in Linn County District Court.
Edward Cusic, 44, is charged with first-degree murder. He is accused of killing his mother Anita Cusic-Labkon, 68, who was beaten and had blunt force injuries to her face and arms Dec. 7, 2012, according to court documents. Cusic and his mother lived together.
According to court documents, Cusic called 911 that night and told a police dispatcher that he killed his mother with a crowbar because she had threatened him with a knife. He told police his mother was bipolar and suicidal.
According to a criminal complaint, Cusic later told police his mother threatened him with a dagger and he used the crowbar to kill her.
Police found Cusic-Labkon’s body face up on a bed in the back bedroom, with a crowbar between her legs, according to a search warrant affidavit. Investigators also located a handgun on top of a dresser in the bedroom and a dagger under pillows in the bedroom.
Cusic in a jailhouse interview with The Gazette said he was acting in self-defense that night and only intended to injure his mother. He said his mother pointed a gun at him and said “I’ll send you straight to hell.”
Cusic also claimed in the interview that his mother carried a .380 handgun in her pocket and had another gun in her bedroom and several daggers in the house.
