But the charging of Raszynski, who's facing a second-degree murder beef even though Redford shot him before he stomped her to death, and the release of an arrest affidavit on view below, proves that the incident was even more twisted than previously believed.
Raszynski, convicted of aggravated stalking in Florida circa 2008, had been living with Redford at a home in Lafayette. On February 23, according to the affidavit, he called 911 and told the dispatcher that he'd been having an argument with his mom, who he claimed had been taking pills and yelling at him about a cushion for her car. He added that "the cushion was either in the back seat of her car or her drug addicted mind."
At that point, the affidavit continues, Redford got on the phone and declared that Raszynski was bipolar and schizophrenic -- an assertion that prompted her son to yell, "She's lying, officer! No, I'm not!" He then said to Redford, "Mom, if I help you find the car cushion, could we stop this? The police have other things to do."
After more back-and-forths, the dispatcher asked Redford if she feared Raszynski might hurt her. She responded, "I don't know. I'm going to my room to lie down." The dispatcher said the two should separate.
That call ended shortly after Raszynski announced that he was under FBI surveillance. But another one followed, at which point Raszynski announced that he and Redford both had permits for medical marijuana. The dispatcher subsequently reminded him to stay away from his mother, noting that officers were on their way.
This advice wasn't heeded, as was clear by yet another 911 call a few minutes later, during which Raszynski announced that his mom had shot him. How had he responded to that? "I stomped her neck, lady," he said. And indeed, when police arrived, Raszynski was bleeding from multiple wounds and his mother was lying dead on her back, with her feet toward the stairs near the front door. He told cops she'd come down the steps firing at him, so he "stomped her head."
The next day, officers interviewed Raszynski at the hospital, where he called his mom crazy and insisted that she needed the missing car seat "to buy drugs." He says he told her to go upstairs, and when she came down with a gun, he recalled telling her, "Fine, go ahead and fucking shoot me." Which she did -- "about twenty times," by his estimate. A day later, he still couldn't believe that Redford would try to "fucking murder me" over a car cushion.
Subsequent investigation detailed in the affidavit calls into question Raszynski's description of Redford, with evidence suggesting that she feared for her life, felt like a prisoner in her own home, and kept a cache of pills on hand in case she decided to commit suicide. The police had been to the home back in January, at which time Redford appeared "visibly distraught and frightened."
Read the entire arrest warrant below; then page down to see our earlier coverage.
Adam Raszynski arrest warrant:
The Boulder Daily Camera obtained the affidavit, which states that Raszynski called 911 just shy of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, saying that he and his mother were arguing. At that point, Redford jumped on the line to say the cops had been to the house previously and Raszynski is a parolee.
Four minutes later, Raszynski called 911 again -- and dialed a third time six minutes after that to reveal that he'd been shot and his mother was dead.
When officers arrived moments later, "Adam said his mother shot him and that he was dying," the affidavit maintains. "Adam said his mother was in front of the front door and that he thought she was dead."
How did it happen? States the affidavit, "Adam told [a detective] that his mother came down the stairs shooting at him. He said he thought he was shot in the head and kidney." And Redford? Raszynski announced that "he stomped her head," the report allows.
Thus far, the Boulder County District Attorney's Office hasn't leveled charges against Raszynski, and no wonder. Figuring out whether his actions constitute murder or self-defense won't be easy.
Look below to read our previous coverage:
Original item, 7:57 a.m. February 24: A woman is dead and a man is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds following a bizarre incident in Lafayette.
The police are not confirming names, but at this point, it appears that Adam Raszynski may have been shot by his mother, Rita Redford, who wound up dead at the bottom of the family home's stairs.
Among the news outlets doing the heaviest lifting thus far is the Boulder Daily Camera, which reports that the 2817 Whitetail Circle address where the incident took place is registered to Redford, sixty, who neighbors say was living there with Raszynski, her 33-year-old son.
A person with the same name and birth date as Raszynski was convicted of stalking charges in Florida and did time there, the Camera reports, adding that Redford's son filed for bankruptcy last year.
One more thing: Lafayette cops tell the Camera that "police responded to a domestic call at the address a month or two ago and, at the time, the mother said she was afraid of her son."
A call has been placed to the Lafayette Police Department's public information officer. We'll update this post after we receive a response. In the meantime, look below to see a larger version of the Raszynski mug shot, a Camera video connected to the case as well as an interactive graphic showing the area near the scene; if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
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More from our News archives: "Double homicide investigation at home on Marlin Way in Keene Ranch: Two bodies found."