A 49-year-old Tucson man has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder in the killing of his elderly mother, police say.
Michael Andrei Lyons turned himself in to police on July 31, six days after the body of Sarane Lyons, 74, was found on the kitchen floor of the home they shared, Pima County Justice Court records indicate.
During his interview with police, Lyons allegedly told investigators he accidentally killed his mother after striking her head, causing her to fall and hit her head on concrete. He said that his actions happened "in a sudden flash of rage," according to an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court.
The body of Sarane Lyons was found at about 6:30 p.m. July 25, after officers were called to conduct a wellness check at a home in the 4000 block of East Monte Vista Drive. A neighbor reported smelling a "foul odor" coming from the Lyons' house in a neighborhood near North Alvernon Way and East Glenn Street.
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Police found the woman's body on the kitchen floor. Her son was not there and had not been seen for days, witnesses said.
The witness told police the last time he saw Lyons, the man was making "nonsensical statements and appeared to be under the influence," according to the court filing.
After turning himself in, Lyons told police he attempted to put his mother on the couch, but she was too heavy, so he left her on the floor.
Court records show that Sarane Lyons' body was in advance stages of decomposition by the time police went to the house.
Lyons told police he knew his mother was dead, but did not call authorities and stayed with her body for three days before fleeing the house, the complaint says.
After talking to investigators, Lyons was arrested on suspicion of second degree murder and booked into the Pima County Jail on a $1 million bond, police said
