ZEBULON (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina have accused a teenager of decapitating his mother in what a sheriff called a “gruesome scene.”

Franklin County Sheriff Kent Winstead said 18-year-old Oliver Funez is charged with first-degree murder.

Winstead said a deputy answered a 911 call from Funez on Monday and saw the teen walking out of the house holding the head in one hand and what appeared to be a butcher knife in the other.

Inside the home, deputies found the body of 35-year-old Yesenia Funez Beatriz Machado. Winstead said two young siblings were at home but were unharmed, and a fourth child was at school. Authorities did not elaborate on what led to the death.

Funez is being held in a local jail. It’s not known if he has an attorney.