A St. Paul woman admitted in court Wednesday that she strangled her wheelchair-bound mother, whose screams were heard by several neighbors.

“I physically attacked her,” Sarah Mary Catherine Purcell said in Ramsey County District Court, referring to the Aug. 12 incident. “I grabbed her by the neck.”

Purcell, 41, pleaded guilty to domestic assault by strangulation.

Her 72-year-old mother, Lynn Irene Purcell, died Sept. 1. The Ramsey County medical examiner determined that the death was from natural causes; Lynn Purcell had suffered from congestive heart failure and diabetes and had both legs amputated, her daughter told the Pioneer Press.

In response to questions from prosecutor Yasmin Mullings, Purcell agreed that she and her mother were having a dispute that culminated about 8:20 p.m. Several people called 911 because they could hear screaming inside the house in the 900 block of Aurora Avenue.

She also admitted she threatened her mother’s life.

Mullings did not ask what the dispute was about. But Sarah Purcell told police when they responded to the incident, “I put things in her room where I want them. When I come home and things have been moved, I get (expletive) pissed!”

Sarah Purcell was intoxicated at the time, according to the complaint.

Police found the older woman lying on the floor of the bedroom.

Purcell will get no more than 60 days in jail, according to the plea agreement. The felony charge will drop to a misdemeanor if she follows the terms of her probation.

Sentencing before Judge Diane Alshouse is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Follow her at twitter.com/emilygurnon.