Macbook pro puzzler

I'm dealing with my mom's Macbook Pro (I think it's a 15" 2011 one) which I got updated to El Capitan. Today, i got a phone call-it's dead, frozen, won't go. So: I ask them to reset the pmu/nvram with the Left hand side keyboard salute-Shift, control, option and power when the Macbook is shut down. Machine boots up, shows the Apple icon and progress bar. gets to halfway-freezes. So, I ask them to zap the pram. Now it gets a bit past halfway progress and.....freezes. I ask them to reboot from the Recovery partition and do disc first aid, which it does and try rebooting. So...same thing. gets to 2/3 progress and freezes. I'm out of ideas right now, apart from booting up in Safe mode. Someone asked me if installing MacKeeper on it would fix it and clear up all of these problems. How about no !!:ptptptptp:mad: seriously that thing causes more problems then it fixes. I suggested if they had AppleCare, to call Apple or Take it in (sigh....) I'm stumped on this one. I suggested the usual remedies and nothing really worked. I had such hopes for El Capitan but Oh Captain, My Captain, it seems like you have pooped the bed (if I can use such language here) ...any hints or explanation would be appreciated as to what, if anything I could have done otherwise to solve this.

thanks

John B

via ehMac.ca http://ift.tt/1KIpq91