10 Year Anniversary of Mesa Frying Pan Murder Exposes Chilling New Details

By Abigail Wilt, Bruce Rowland

April 30th, 2023

On the evening of October 26, 2013, 16-year-old Michael Helms awoke from a blackout
rage to his mother on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. He was holding a frying pan
and a hammer; the murder weapons.

Frantically covering up what he had done, Helms dragged his mother’s body by her feet
hauling it to the backyard shed. The body laid there until authorities uncovered it later
that day.

Overcome with panic, Helms prepared to flee. He took the keys to his mother’s truck
planning to drive south. On the way out, Helms was stopped by his step-father; a
physically abusive alcoholic.

In his attempt to escape, Helms used the frying pan once again swinging for his
step-father’s head. The attack allowed him to leave.

Burdened with guilt, Helms drove to Tucson. He spent the following day in seclusion
overcome with remorse. He later made the trek back to his hometown in Mesa to
surrender himself to authorities.

Traumatized by the murder scene, Helms went to the house of his friend, Christian
Blakely, where he assumed authorities would be waiting. It was there that he was taken
into custody.
As a minor, Helms was encouraged by his public defender to take a plea bargain which
would result in a lesser sentence. The sentencing took place when Helms turned 18, on
his birthday in March. He was sentenced to 20 years with no parole and faced 10-25
years. The judge took into account his expressed remorse and the pleas from his
grandmother who petitioned for a lesser sentence.

The events that transpired on the morning of October 26 were complex. A world of
physical, mental and emotional abuse defined Helm’s childhood.

“My mom was more mentally abusive and my step-father was more physical,” Helms
said in an interview conducted from prison.
Helms remembers a time when his relationship with his mother was loving and safe. He
developed a knack for domestic hobbies when his mother taught him how to sew. He
reminisced sitting with her and learning the basics of stitching and how to work a sewing
machine.

Her company was a haven Helms sought to protect, even when her presence in his life
took a new form. Around 8 years old, Helms remembered a sudden change in his
mother’s behavior.

“I just remember thinking, ‘When did this become normal? When did my mom become
like this?’” Helms said.

Helms attributes the change in his mother to the controlling influence of his step-father.
Their marriage was dysfunctional and hostile, especially for Helms.

Helm’s memory of his step-father was anything but loving. James Spencer showed his
resentment for Michael through constant physical abuse. The control James Spencer
held over the family prevented Helms’s mother from intervening. Tina Helms has
supported her husband’s actions when it came to the abuse.

“It would be over the smallest things. He would find anything to make an excuse. He
would make jokes about it like he didn’t mean what he did,” said Helms.

Helms remembered several incidences of the abuse. Twice, James Spencer stabbed
Helms with knives. Once in the shoulder, the other in the arm. Helms recalls being
bashed in the head with cabinet doors when he was making dinner and thrown into the
kitchen wall. Spencer went as far as to beat him with a marble rolling pin breaking
Helm’s arm.

The physical abuse was constant and sometimes without reason. Helms hesitated when
seeking help. He worried that saying something would endanger his mother. Helms
attempted to run away twice and was twice returned by police.

Helms turned to his grandmother and aunt when the abuse overwhelmed him. Aware of
the abuse, they offered to let Helms move in with them if he wanted. Helms refused,
saying that he could not leave his mother unprotected.

At times, Helms would turn to his neighbors, Chris and Kim Raiborne. The Raibornes
offered Helms odd jobs that kept him away from home. Kim Raiborne was a nurse who
could see the evidence of physical abuse from Helms and offered as much discreet
medical support as she could.
His “teddy bear” like figure and friendly dispositon avoided any suspicions of violence
from Helms’s peers. Evangelina Graves, a former peer of Michael’s, recalls a love letter
she received detailing a secret affection.

A copy of the letter was found:

Evangelina (Rowland) Graves holds the paper letter she received at the bus stop from
Helms in 2013.

It was hard for Graves to accept that someone like Helms was capable of murdering his
mother in such a brutal way. For months, Graves was in shock.

"I remember the last time I saw him. He was sitting by himself on a bench after school. I
thought it was weird that he was by himself. I wanted to go over and talk to him, but I
ended up leaving. He was more isolated towards the end," said Graves.

Helms's friends consisted of ROTC members. Christian Blakely was among them.
Blakely's sympathy for Helms resulted in their friendship.

"He didn't have a lot of friends and I wanted to be that person," said Blakely.
A month before the murder, Helms disappeared from school. Blakely was recovering
from a knee injury when Helms came to his house asking to hang out. He agreed,
concerned about Helm's well-being and the reason for his disappearance.

Blakely volunteered at American Legion before making his way to Helms's house that
evening. In route, Blakely was hit by a car riding his bike. Pushing through the pain, he
arrived at Helms's house. After ringing the door bell, Blakely was greeted with a
paranoid Helms holding a frying pan above his head as if he was expecting an attack.

Blakely assured Helms that it was him as he lowered the frying pan. Upon inquiring
about Helms's paranoia, Blakely discovered that Helms had been in a fight with his
mom before she left for work.

"The house was a mess. The fan above the stove had been completely ripped out. Mike
said his mom had done it during the fight. I helped him clean up and then we watched
TV until his mom came home," Blakely said.

Tina Helms stomped into her home coming from work. She observed her son and his
friend watching TV and threw her bag on the ground. Then, she walked back to her
room and slammed the door. Sensing a fight coming, Blakely made remarks about the
scene saying he wanted to leave. Shortly after, Tina Helms emerged from her room in a
rage.

"She was like 5'9" and 250 lbs. She was a big woman, she was strong. She hauled off
and just smacked him. Hard enough that his head rolled and then I could see something
in his eyes. He snapped. It wasn't him anymore," Blakely said.

Helms and his mother started throwing punches. Meanwhile, Blakely tried to move past
the fight attempting to escape. Helms had his mother in a head-lock. Her legs flailed,
kicking Blakely's knee and dislocating it. He crawled under a nearby computer desk
hiding as the rest of the fight unfolded.
A drawing of Helms’s house drawn by Christian Blakely when describing the details of
the murder in 2013.

From under the computer desk, Blakely watched his friend beat his mother with a frying
pan until she was on the ground. Helms then grabbed a hammer resting on the table
next to him and beat his mother's face in until she died.
Following the death, Helms requested Blakely help with the cleanup. Blakely refused
and nervously watched as Helms moved the body. As Blakely watched Helms clean up
the blood, he saw an opportunity to escape, so he bolted out the door, hopped on his
bike and pedaled away without looking back.

The events of that night have haunted Christian Blakely and his family to this day. He
never expected to witness such a horrific scene. Now, Blakely leads a normal life putting
the past behind him.
Michael Helms sits in a prison cell located in Douglas, Arizona. He will be released in
2033. Helms has no desire to connect with his step-father and wishes to put the murder
behind him.
“She gave me life, but she did not have the power to take it away. I don’t hold any
resentment towards her. I’ve learned that anger is a useless emotion,” Helms said when
asked about his part in the murder.