SAPD: Man accused of murdering mother, 89, confessed brutal details

Mother was 'unrecognizable as a person' when officers found her, police say

SAN ANTONIOEditor's note: The details of this case as provided by police are graphic and some readers may find them disturbing.

A man accused of killing his mother shared gruesome details of her death while confessing to San Antonio police officers, according to an arrest affidavit.

Lindsey Turiano, 58, was taken into custody Wednesday evening on a murder charge in connection with the death of Norma Woods, 89.

Woods was found dead on July 14 by police when officers responded to a report of a burglary at a home in the 5900 block of Stonybrook on the Southwest Side. Officers found Turiano passed out and severely dehydrated in the kitchen, the affidavit said.

Police previously said Turiano has mental disabilities and records showed a criminal history that spans back more than 30 years.

READ MORE: Residents troubled after elderly woman's body found decomposing in her home

While first responders took Turiano to the hospital, police noticed the home was in disarray

"Most of the house was destroyed with the living room completely covered in broken furniture, glass and other household items," detectives wrote in the affidavit.

In the back room, police found Woods' body. She was beaten so severely "that she was unrecognizable as a person," detectives wrote in the affidavit.

"Most of her skull and brain were missing," according to the report.

Pieces of her skull were found in the living room, police said, and some of her teeth were found near a broken knife.

An autopsy revealed that Woods also suffered multiple stab wounds to her chest, neck and legs.

On Aug. 21, police were told by a doctor at Downtown Baptist Hospital that Turiano confessed to killing his mother.

When police interviewed Turiano, he told them he strangled her in her bedroom and "tried to rape her," according to the affidavit.

He told police that he then dragged her to the living room and killed her. The two remained at the home for a few days before police were called to the home.

Turiano's bail was set at $300,000, jail records showed.