FRESNO  (AP) — A Central California man who told detectives he strangled his 78-year-old grandmother now faces murder and elder abuse charges.

Family members say 22-year-old Travis Ray Fendley is a schizophrenic who had been in and out of the Fresno County Jail five times in recent months. He was released again on Monday because of jail overcrowding.

The Fresno Bee says Fendley ordered his mother out of her car in Clovis and drove away on Tuesday. He crashed the stolen Chrysler on a rural Merced County road a short time later.

Police then discovered the body of his grandmother, Pamela Frazier, about two miles from the mother's home.

Police said Wednesday that Fendley told detectives he strangled Frazier and planned to kill other family members.

Fendley will appear in Fresno County Superior Court on Friday for a probation hearing. His lawyer says he expects probation to be revoked.

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