Woman Found Decapitated; Son Arrested

When deputies arrived, a mother was lying on a bathroom floor, her decapitated head by her side. Her teenage son was nearby, naked, covered in blood and reading a Bible.

Investigators on Monday were trying to piece together what allegedly led David Lange to hack off his mother’s head with a meat cutter’s knife.

“This is really weird because there’s no history [of violence] on this guy at all,” said Assistant Merced County Sheriff Henry Strength. “We have no idea why this thing happened.”

Lange, an 18-year-old house painter, was being held without bail on suspicion of murdering his 50-year-old mother, Aurelia.

An autopsy was conducted Monday. With Lange being uncooperative, family members were interviewed but could not shed much light on what might have prompted the slaying Friday afternoon.

“A family member’s never going to say, ‘I always knew he was going to kill,’ ” said Sgt. Rick Marshall, who is heading the investigation.

Deputies found the grisly scene after one of Aurelia Lange’s daughters called 911 from a nearby town and asked deputies to check on the family house on Paradise Avenue.

After refusing treatment for a deep cut on a finger, Lange was placed in restraints and taken to a hospital, where he was treated and blood was drawn for drug tests.

It could be weeks before test results are complete.