Massachusetts man arrested for 70-year-old mother's murder

BOSTON - A Massachusetts man wanted in the beating death of his mother has been arrested, reports CBS Boston.

Matthew McAveeney, 46, was apprehended in Belmont, N.C. on Tuesday.

His 70-year-old mother, Barbara McAveeney, was found dead in her Winchester, Mass. condo on Swanton Street in Winchester on October 14. A wellness check led police to make the discovery and an arrest warrant was issued for her son later that day.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Boston Herald.

McAveeney was arrested after Massachusetts State Police alerted Belmont police that he may have been in a Wal-Mart in that city. Belmont officers found McAveeney in the parking lot. When officers confronted McAveeney, he assaulted an officer, CBS Boston reports.

McAveeney is expected to be brought before a judge on Wednesday in Gaston County District Court in Gastonia, North Carolina.

"In light of the terrible allegations in this incident, the horrific beating and murder of a 70-year-old woman in her own home, we are pleased that the defendant is now in custody," Middlesex District Attorney Ryan said. "We await his return to Massachusetts so that our prosecution can move forward."

McAveeney faces murder and other charges including two counts of cruelty to animals.