A Colorado Springs man claimed that he killed his mother around Mother’s Day last year because he was “possessed by a demon,” according to recently obtained court documents.

Yeurashka Graham, 48, was in the El Paso County jail when he was named a suspect in the May 10, 2021, death of Theresa Graham, whose body was found underneath a tarp outside a burning home in the Cheyenne Mountain area, the court documents state.

On the same day, Graham was arrested and jailed after he allegedly attempted to hit people with his pickup truck, intentionally rammed vehicles, chased people with a metal pole, and threatened several officers in the 800 block of Sword Dancer Drive on the city’s north side — about 15 miles away from the home, police said.

An affidavit alleged that Graham told a jail deputy in late November that he “wanted to confess to a crime,” adding that “I know I killed my mother. I am not positive, but I am pretty sure I was possessed by a demon when I was using drugs and I blacked out but, I’m pretty sure I killed my mother the day after Mother’s Day.”

On the late afternoon of May 10, firefighters and police responded to a fire at 18 W. Cheyenne Road. They found a cottage behind the home was burning, court documents state.

“After the fire was extinguished and no occupants were located inside the cottage, (Colorado Springs Fire Department) personnel located a deceased adult female body underneath a pile of items outside of the cottage that had been on fire,” an affidavit states. Fire investigators “noted that the individual was covered in blood and that it appeared someone had killed her and covered her with a tarp.”

The affidavit did not say how Theresa Graham was killed but noted a knife found on the tarp while describing her death as “extremely violent and likely protracted in time.”

Court documents state that in a jail call with his girlfriend, Yeurashka Graham gave an explanation to why he confessed to killing his mother. “But I’ve been having bad anxiety and I pretty much did a confession for my mom’s murder, so, yep. I mean it’s, who else could it be? It’s gotta be me.”

He appeared in court Friday for his first-degree murder case.

The court set a preliminary hearing for May 10 at 9:30 a.m., in which prosecutors must establish probable cause.