An Illinois man, aged 38, has been apprehended and is now facing charges for the alleged murder of his 72-year-old mother.

The tragic event unfolded when the O’Fallon Police Department responded to a well-being check for Terrie “Tracy” Nguyen around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Upon arrival at her residence in a suburb of St. Louis, officers discovered her deceased.

David Nguyen, her son, quickly became a person of interest in the case. Just three hours later, Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers spotted him driving west on Interstate 70 near Concordia, Missouri. In an attempt to evade capture, Nguyen led troopers on a chase, prompting them to deploy stop sticks.

The pursuit ended when Nguyen veered off the highway and fled into a wooded area, where authorities successfully apprehended him.

Following his arrest, Nguyen was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation and was subsequently transferred to the custody of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office.

On Wednesday, the State’s Attorney’s Office in St. Clair County, Illinois, charged Nguyen with murder and concealment of a homicidal death. He remains in jail in Missouri awaiting extradition to Illinois.

According to the Belleville News-Democrat, Nguyen hit his mother in the face and then put plastic wrap over her nose and mouth. Prosecutors said that he turned on the gas in the home “and left a lit candle inside the house with the intent to cause an explosion.”

Investigators have not revealed a motive and are as yet unsure about how the victim died.