Ventura woman scheduled to appear in court on attempted murder charge

Mother played dead as daughter allegedly set scene
    An 81-year-old Ventura woman told officials she layed on the floor of her home and pretended to be dead after her daughter allegedly attacked her and then ransacked her home to stage a break-in.
    Tressa Waddingham told Hancock County authorities she was struck in the head four times and knocked to the floor by her  daughter, Valerie Lea Hasbrouck, 47, of Ventura.  Hasbrouck was arrested Monday, Dec. 3, on the charge of Attempt to Commit Murder.  Hasbrouck made her initial appearance before a Magistrate on Tuesday, Dec. 4.  The judge ordered she be held in Hancock County Jail on $200,000 bond.   A no-contact order was also issued to keep Hasbrouck away from her mother.
    Waddingham was hospitalized at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in fair condition. She has since been released.
    Documents filed in Hancock County District Court state the incident began Monday morning, Dec. 3, when Hasbrouck entered Waddingham’s rural Ventura home. 
    Hasbrouck made a 911 call to authorities at 1:55 p.m. and reported she had just found the house burglarized and her mother dead.  But when authorities arrived, Waddingham wasn’t dead and she identified her daughter as the person who had attacked her and then scattered and broke belongings so the home would appear to have been broken into.
    Court documents state Hasbrouck struck her mother with a frying pan and heard her say, “Would you die already?  This is taking way too long.”
     If convicted, Hasbrouck faces up to 25 years in prison.  Her preliminary hearing is set for 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 13.