Mother arrested after allegedly choking her disabled son, police say

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- A Utah woman has been arrested after police say she strangled her 21-year-old son.

Police say it happened in front of her six other children.

Gidget Quilter, 42, is said to have allegedly choked her 21-year-old mentally handicapped son in front of her six other children.

The son, James, had made a mess inside their home which made his mother angry.

That's when she began choking James.

Quilter's 17-year-old daughter explained what happened to police, saying "she grabbed James by the front of his throat with her right hand and the back of his head with her left hand before she pushed him to the ground and straddled his trunk and arms with her legs."

She continued, saying Quilter applied so much pressure to James' neck that the screaming stopped because she cut off his ability to breathe.

Quilter is now being held in jail without bail on a series of felony and misdemeanor charges for assault and witness tampering.

Quilter's children are now in the custody of her husband and other adult children.