Man charged in Great Falls for allegedly killing his grandmother

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - A Great Falls man was charged with deliberate homicide, assault with a weapon, strangling a family member and tampering with evidence for allegedly killing his grandmother, who he lived with.

According to court documents, police were first notified by a neighbor who called to report that he found the woman dead on May 8 at around 2:52 p.m. after entering the house.

When police approached Christopher James Jenkins in the backyard, he reportedly told them that he was doing yardwork to prepare for burying his grandmother.

Jenkins admitted to killing the woman in an interview at the Great Falls Police Department, court documents say. He told police that he choked her and beat her with several tools including a metal stick from a barbecue. All the tools he described were recovered from the house and taken into evidence.

Jenkins has a prior felony conviction for criminal child endangerment. He also has convictions for felony burglary and manufacturing/possession of a dangerous weapon originating out of California.