A man who “attacked his mother with a machete, to the point of near-decapitation”, has been charged with murder, as confirmed by New York City district attorney.

46-year-old Osvaldo Diaz, a former officer of the New York City Police Department now faces 25 years in prison if convicted of murder and other charges filed against him over the attack against his 78-year-old mother, Maria Diaz.

NBC New York reported that he entered a plea of not guilty, and his attorney, Jose Nieves, has requested a psychiatric evaluation for his client.

The attack on Feb. 24, 2021, took place in an apartment that the man and his mother shared above a beauty salon in Queens.

The accused man’s sister had planned with their mother to run errands and take a walk together. But when the sister arrived at the apartment and called their mother’s cell phone numerous times, there was no answer.

Eventually Osvaldo Diaz picked up and told his sister to go to the store alone. When she returned, she was again met with unanswered calls, prompting her to summon the landlord for access into the apartment.

When access to the apartment was granted, they found Maria Diaz’s bleeding body wrapped in bedding, with her brother gone. According to the indictment, video surveillance recorded him leaving the apartment after his sister left for the store.

Diaz was declared dead though no motive was given for the alleged murder. The prosecutor’s office says the alleged killer was on the run for a week before he was caught in New Jersey, where he remained until he was returned last week to Queens for his arraignment on a charge of second-degree murder. He also faces two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The suspect is currently being held in jail without bail.