Authorities say Alexander Harrington called law enforcement himself before deputies found his 77-year-old mother dead inside their shared home.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A 50-year-old Florida man who described himself online as a life coach and “intuitive healer” is charged with first-degree murder after authorities say he contacted law enforcement and reported killing his mother at their west Delray Beach home.

Alexander Harrington was arrested Sept. 11 after Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after 2 p.m. to the 5100 block of Monterey Lane. Deputies found Harrington outside and took him into custody without incident, according to the sheriff’s office. Inside the residence, investigators found his 77-year-old mother dead with apparent stab wounds. Local reports and a family memorial identified her as Susan Paige Baratto. The case has drawn wider attention because of Harrington’s online posts about forgiveness and spiritual healing shortly before the killing, but authorities have not publicly identified a motive.

The sequence described by investigators began not with a neighbor’s emergency call or a witness report, but with Harrington contacting law enforcement himself. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said he told authorities that he had killed his mother. An arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime said deputies encountered Harrington outside the home before going inside. Baratto was found in the living room with multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead. Investigators also reported finding a knife near her. The sheriff’s Violent Crimes Division took over the homicide investigation, and Harrington was later booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.

According to the affidavit cited in published reports, Harrington had a cut on his left arm when emergency medical personnel examined him. Asked what had happened, he allegedly said, “I killed my mom.” Detectives later interviewed him after advising him of his rights, and the affidavit says he again acknowledged stabbing his mother and contacting authorities afterward. Those statements are allegations contained in the criminal investigation and have not been tested at trial. Harrington has been charged with first-degree murder, but a charge is not a conviction, and prosecutors would have to prove the case in court.

What investigators have not publicly explained is what happened in the home before Baratto was killed. The arrest material described in news reports does not identify an argument, a precipitating event or a motive. It also does not establish why Harrington allegedly attacked his mother. That gap is significant because much of the public attention surrounding the case has focused on Harrington’s social-media activity. His posts may form part of the broader investigative record, but authorities have not publicly said that any particular post explains the killing or demonstrates why it occurred.

Harrington presented a markedly different image online. A Facebook account identified in news reports described him as a life coach and “intuitive healer,” and Local 10 reported that the page had more than 5,000 followers. Shortly before his arrest, Harrington posted frequently about faith, love, healing and forgiveness. In a video published the day before Baratto’s death, he discussed forgiving people from the past and described forgiveness as part of emotional healing. The timing created a striking contrast with the murder allegation, but the posts should not be treated as proof of intent or motive without further evidence from investigators or prosecutors.

The affidavit also records statements Harrington reportedly made about his own mental-health history. He told investigators that he had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, according to reports that reviewed the document, and said he had been sober since 2007. Those self-reported medical details do not by themselves establish why the killing happened, whether a diagnosis contributed to it or what legal defenses might eventually be raised. Authorities have not publicly linked a psychiatric condition to the alleged offense, and publicly available reporting has not established that a mental-health evaluation has produced any conclusion about his criminal responsibility.

Baratto’s family has provided a fuller picture of the woman whose life is at the center of the case. A memorial page created by relatives says Susan Paige Baratto was born June 15, 1949, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and trained as a registered nurse in Oxford, England. Her family remembered her as an active reader and tennis player who enjoyed poetry, theater, gardens and travel. The memorial said she had recently returned from a trip to Europe and regularly spent time with her daughter and grandson. It described family, friendships and ordinary routines rather than the circumstances of her death, offering a portrait distinct from the crime-scene details that dominated early coverage.

The memorial said Baratto was preceded in death by her first husband, Thomas Gerald Harrington, her later husband, Kenneth Baratto, and an infant daughter. She was survived by her daughter, Hillary Blue, her son-in-law and a grandson. Friends who posted remembrances described her as kind and socially engaged, including through tennis and a book club. Those accounts have not been offered as evidence in the criminal case; they instead document the life that preceded the homicide investigation. A celebration of life was planned later in September, according to the family memorial site.

The criminal case moved quickly into Palm Beach County Circuit Court after Harrington’s arrest. Boca Post, citing county jail and court records, reported that he was booked late Sept. 11 on one count of first-degree premeditated murder and was held with no bond listed. WPBF later reported that Harrington declined to attend multiple early court proceedings and that a judge ordered him to have no contact with the victim’s next of kin. The station also reported that Harrington had no prior misdemeanor or felony arrests in Palm Beach County dating to 1998. That absence of a local arrest record does not resolve the allegations now before the court.

The legal process remains separate from the public discussion generated by Harrington’s online persona. First-degree murder is the charge prosecutors have brought, but the available reports do not disclose the full evidence they may ultimately rely on to prove premeditation. The affidavit accounts reported so far center on Harrington’s alleged statements, deputies’ observations at the residence and the physical scene. Additional evidence could emerge through court filings, forensic testing, witness interviews or later hearings, but none of those possible developments should be assumed before they appear in the record.

Currently, Harrington is jailed without bond while the murder case continued. Law&Crime and Us Weekly reported that a court appearance was scheduled for Nov. 5. Authorities had not announced a motive, and the publicly described affidavit did not provide a complete account of the period immediately before Baratto’s death. Harrington has not been convicted, leaving the central legal questions — including how prosecutors will support the first-degree murder charge and how the defense will respond — for the court proceedings ahead.

Author note: Last updated October 21, 2026.