High-risk sex offender found dead, may have killed his mother, himself

A registered high-risk sex offender suspected of killing his mother Monday night in Escondido was found dead in his pickup truck Tuesday morning in Del Mar, an apparent suicide.

Authorities said that Joseph Andrew Stuber, 46, likely died of asphyxiation. He was suspected of killing his 83-year-old mother in the home they shared in Escondido. Her name was not released.

The truck was discovered about 7:30 a.m. after an all-night search, including a warning to the public that Stuber should be considered armed and dangerous.

Escondido police said they received information at 9:35 p.m. Monday about a “violent crime” at the home that Stuber shared with his mother. After forcing entry into the home, police found the body of an elderly woman, “the victim of a violent assault.”

Stuber had been seen leaving the house in his pickup “driving at a high rate of speed,” police said.

Police released a picture Monday night of Stuber and the license plate number of his 2007 Silver Toyota Tacoma pickup. Stuber had called his father, who lived separately from his mother, and confessed to harming her, police said.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Escondido police and the county medical examiner are investigating. Stuber served 16 years in prison and a state hospital for molesting two boys.

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