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Sonoma County Woman Arrested For Fatally Stabbing Mother

SEBASTOPOL (CBS SF) -- A Sebastopol-area woman has been booked into jail for fatally stabbing her 59-year-old mother Monday morning, a Sonoma County sheriff's lieutenant said.

Julie Franzen, 24, was arrested for murder shortly after the body of Nancy Franzen was found around 8 a.m. in the home they shared in the 7900 block of Tocchini Street north of Sebastopol, sheriff's Lt. Dennis O'Leary said.

Deputies recovered what is believed to be the murder weapon, a large kitchen knife, in what O'Leary described as "a bloody crime scene" at the home, which had blood on the floor and furniture.

He said the fatal assault took place in multiple areas of the house.

No motive for the murder is known, O'Leary said. He said the sheriff's office has responded to incidents at the home in the past.

Deputies responded around 8 a.m. after Julie Franzen showed up at her next-door neighbor's house with a knife and blood on her hands.

She told her neighbor she had just killed someone, sheriff's Lt. Steve Brown said.

Deputies found Nancy Franzen's body on the floor of a bedroom. An autopsy will be done Tuesday or Wednesday, and Franzen likely will be arraigned in court Wednesday, O'Leary said.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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