911 caller claims 18-year-old accused of killing grandmother with tumbler was ‘out of control’

ERLANGER, Ky. (WXIX/Gray News) - Police in Kentucky have released 911 calls where a relative claims that an 18-year-old man accused of killing his grandmother with a tumbler was “out of control.”

Wyatt Testerman, 18, is facing charges of murder and domestic violence related to the killing of his grandmother, 74-year-old Cheri Oliver, according to court documents.

Oliver’s relative, who remains anonymous, called 911 last Tuesday after another family member told her to do so, WXIX reports. According to the call, the family member claimed that her nephew was “out of control.”

Officer: Kenton County 911, what is your emergency?

Caller: I need a, um – My sister just called me asking to have the police sent to my mother’s house.

Officer: OK. What’s going on there?

Caller: My nephew is out of control is the only thing I can think of.

Officer: OK. How old is he?

Caller: He’s 18.

The police report indicates that Testerman may have been under the influence of drugs during the incident. It states that he requested officers not to shoot him, emphasizing that he was not a threat.

Police from three Northern Kentucky agencies - Erlanger, Elsmere, and Independence - responded to Oliver’s Ridgewood Drive home in Erlanger shortly after 2 p.m. that Tuesday because they received a report of an “active assault,” wrote Erlanger police in a news release.

Oliver was discovered in her home with life-threatening injuries described as “head trauma” in the police release. According to the police report, she was found unconscious in a pool of blood.

She was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, police said.

An Independence police officer detained Testerman “immediately and without incident” after seeing him outside her home.

Testerman, who is held at the Kenton County Detention Center, had several outbursts while in the backseat of the police car, the police report said.

According to Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders, in a case like this, investigators usually look into the person’s mental health.

“This defendant’s mental health condition is part of our ongoing investigation. However, any kind of mental health defense that is asserted in court is something that the defense is required to put forward, so we have limited access to a defendant’s medical history or mental health history, especially this early on in the case,” Sanders said.

Testerman showed no apparent emotion during a brief court hearing Wednesday. He told the judge he would handle his own legal defense. However, he didn’t seem sure of himself, so the judge appointed a public defender to represent him.

Court documents show that the judge set his bond at $500,000 cash.

The case will return to court on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

Police are still investigating this case.

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